The Story of a Ralts
by Der Monstrositat
Summary: One day, a Ralts in the Hoenn region encounters and is captured by a Pokémon trainer, May. This event leads to a huge adventure that changes them both forever. Warning: Updated sporadically, at best.
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

It started in a small field of grass, near a little pond. A curious Ralts poked its head out of the grass and looked around the area. It was a female Ralts, a rebellious little Pokémon. It and its parents had an argument earlier, so it decided to simply run off to the aforementioned field of grass, looking for some time alone. However, fate decided that this Ralts was not to have a quiet, calm period of solitude.

The Ralts suddenly noticed something approaching the field, and ducked her head into the grass so she would be harder to spot. She recognized a Torchic, another type of Pokémon, running into the field excitedly. Behind it, she saw something she had only seen once or twice before: a human. This human was wearing a bandana across the top of her head, and had two long locks of hair hanging down, one on each side of her head. Her shirt was red and had short sleeves, her skirt partially covering a pair of jet-black pants. The Ralts then noticed something that struck fear into her heart: the human was holding a Poké Ball. The scared Pokémon knew that if they discovered her, she would likely be captured, and consequently put into slavery under the human.

She attempted to back away, but accidentally tripped over a slight bump in the ground. This attracted the Torchic's attention, and it ran over to her. It gave a loud cry of "Torchic-tor!" and ran towards her. She turned around desperately attempted to get away, but ended up simply tripping over another bump in the ground. By this time, the human had noticed the Ralts, and had run over. The Ralts stood up and turned to face the two of them. She acknowledged the grimness of the situation, but nevertheless decided to hold her ground. She knew that if she ran away to her parents, she would never be able to go out and explore again.

The Torchic had by this point caught up to her, and faced her with a determined expression on its face. Its trainer had a similarly determined expression on her face, gripping the Poké Ball in her hand. She yelled out, "Torchic! Use Scratch!" The Torchic did as she commanded, running up and scratching the Ralts with its stubby talons. The Ralts recoiled in pain, but quickly recovered from the attack. It then retaliated with a menacing growl, which seemed to unnerve the Torchic. However, this did not keep it from doing as its trainer commanded when it was ordered to attack again. This time, the Ralts was unable to recover as quickly, and the trainer saw her opportunity. She threw the Poké Ball she had been holding at the injured Ralts, which was then taken into the ball. The Ralts attempted to break free of the ball, but to no avail. She heard the ball click, and then she had a horrible realization: she was now doomed to a life of slavery and servitude to the human.

(Outside of the Poké ball)

The Pokémon Trainer held the ball triumphantly in the air.

"Yeah, I caught my second Pokémon!" She giggled, and then lifted her Torchic up into her arms. "Thanks, little buddy! I couldn't have done it without you!" The Torchic replied with an exuberant "Tor-Torchic!" The trainer then let her Pokémon down on the ground. Suddenly, she remembered that she had forgotten to get a Pokédex reading on the Pokémon she had just captured. Sheepishly, she said to herself, "Oh well, I'll just scan it when I let it out." She then sat down on a nearby log, and thought to herself. *This was my second Pokémon. This means I'll have to care for them both equally. I'm sure this will work out, though. We'll all be great friends, I'm sure of it!* She then made a decision: She was going to let out the Pokémon she just caught, scan it, and then introduce themselves to it. She reached to the Poké Ball, and then released the newly-caught Pokémon. After it was let out, it confusedly looked around, while the trainer pulled out her Pokédex and scanned it. A cheery voice read out the Pokémon's entry.

"Ralts, the Feeling Pokémon. Ralts is the pre-evolved form of Kirlia. It can use the horns on its head to read human emotions. Ralts rarely shows itself to humans, but may occasionally approach when it senses positive or happy feelings. Ralts can also communicate via telepathy."  
The Trainer smiled. She was sure they would get along wonderfully.

(Perspective shift)

The Ralts glared hatefully at the human. Even if she was technically its trainer, she would find that not all Pokémon are quite so foolish as to instantly trust the people who enslave them.  
The human got onto her knees and approached her. The human said, in a sickeningly cheery tone, "Hi! I'm May, your trainer! How are you?" The Ralts responded by turning her back to her "trainer". The trainer seemed confused by this. "Hmm? What's wrong?" The Ralts then decided to respond via telepathy.

-(Look, you may have caught me, but that doesn't mean you're in charge of me. I'm smart enough not to simply bow down and become your slave just because you were able to overpower me.)-  
May seemed very shocked by this, saying "What?! M-My slave?!" The Pokémon responded, -(Yeah, that's right. I'm not going to bow to your every command whether in battle or out of battle.)-  
The trainer seemed baffled by this. "What do you mean, my slave? You're not going to be my slave, you're just going to be one of my partners!"  
–(Yeah, right. I'm sure that I'm not going to be your slave, especially not one like that Torchic over there.)-  
This time, May responded indignantly. "Hey! Just because Torchic follows my orders doesn't make it my slave!"  
–(How is it any different from a slave? It follows your orders mindlessly, no matter what they are.)-  
"It follows my orders because it trusts me, not because I've brainwashed it or anything!"  
–(Sure, keep telling yourself that. Just know that I'm not gonna follow all of your orders like that Torchic.)-  
May sighed. She wasn't so sure if this was going to work out as well as she planned.

**Author's Note**: Well, that was an interesting experience. Just let me know if you thought it was good, average, or just plain bad. Incidentally, here's a guide on the dialogue, in case you were confused (I apologize for not including this in the beginning; I believed it would take away from the immersion.)  
"Example." = Standard talking.  
*Example.* = Thoughts. (Note that I may sometimes state what a character is/was thinking.)  
-(Example)- = Telepathy. (This is going to be Ralts' way of communication.)  
(Example) = A shift in perspective in some way.


	2. Chapter 2: Ralts' Backstory

_Second chapter. Woo! From now on, I'll add in the dialogue markings for you guys. 'Cuz you guys are awesome. And I'd probably get lost if someone else were writing this fic, too. Anyways, keep in mind that chances are, updates will be erratic as heck. I'll probably update a lot for the next 6 days, and then I'll have to go on a short hiatus for 6 days because I have to go visit family, and then I'll be more active for the next 6 days (I'm beginning to see a pattern here), and then I'll have to go to school, so I might not update as much. Anyways, as promised, here's the dialogue key._  
_"Example."=Standard talking._  
_*Example.*=Thoughts. (Note that I may sometimes state what a character is/was thinking.)_  
_-(Example)-=Telepathy. (This is going to be Ralts' way of communication.)_  
_(Example)=A shift in perspective in some way._  
_With that done, let's get this show on the road.  
_

Ralts was indignant to being kept in her prison while Torchic ran freely outside of its own, but May insisted that Torchic enjoyed being outside and that Ralts was injured, so it couldn't run along. Despite her anger, Ralts had to admit that her trainer had a good point. She was still hurt from her battle with the Torchic, and this way, she didn't have to exert herself. Still, she did not appreciate being kept inside a prison that she could not escape from without her trainer releasing her.  
Suddenly, Ralts felt a wave of rejuvenation running across her. She saw that her wounds suddenly were healing, and felt that she was much more energetic. She did not know what was causing this wonderful feeling, but she did know that whatever was causing it, she did not want it to stop.

(Perspective shift)

May smiled as she waited for her Pokémon to be healed in the Oldale Pokémon Center. Torchic went into its Poké Ball on very few occasions, and this happened to be one of them. She wondered how the Pokémon felt while in the machine. The nurse then turned around and took her Poké Balls out of the machine. The nurse handed them back to her, saying, "Thank you for waiting. We've restored your Pokémon to full health. Please come back any time!" May took the Poké Balls back and walked outside. Once she got outside, she sent out both Torchic and Ralts.

(Perspective shift)

Ralts looked at May with annoyance. She had been very comfortable a few seconds ago, and had the feeling that the reason the comfort stopped was her trainer.  
May got down on her knees, so that her face would be closer to the two (quite small) Pokémon.  
"Okay, you two, we're going to go and train on Route 102!" Torchic looked excited, whereas Ralts had a bored expression on her face.  
-(What do you mean, train?)- "You know, get the two of your stronger."  
-(How do you plan on doing that?)-  
"Well, I was thinking we could defeat some other Pokémon trainers. It would be more of a challenge, and as a result it would give experience."  
-(Oh, that's nice, beat up other people's slaves so we can get stronger and beat stronger slaves.)-  
"Will you cut that out? It's not slavery, it's bonding between people and Pokémon!"  
-(If you say so.)-

(Perspective shift)

May sighed. It was going to be far more difficult to get Ralts to warm up to her that she had initially believed. She gave a weary smile. She knew Ralts would get friendlier as they travelled the Hoenn region together. She stood up and recalled Ralts back into the Poké Ball. Then, she and Torchic began walking towards Route 102. Once they reached it, they walked along the path until they encountered a trainer, a young boy, wearing a blue cap and comfortable-looking shorts.

"Hey! If you have Pokémon with you, then you're an official Pokémon trainer! You can't say no to our challenge!" May looked at him strangely, then shrugged and pulled out Ralts' Poké Ball. Throwing it into the air, she yelled, "Ralts! I choose you!"  
Ralts then came out onto the field from her Poké Ball. In response, the other trainer pulled out his Poké Ball and sent out a Poochyena, a small, wolf-like Pokémon with dark fur. Ralts glared at the opposing Pokémon, ready to do battle.  
However, May then recalled Ralts, and sent out Torchic in her stead. The othet trainer took this opportunity to order his Poochyena to Howl into the air. This action seemed to encourage it, give it confidence. Unfortunately for it, the Howl did not help it when May ordered Torchic to Scratch the Poochyena, and it took a good deal of damage. However, when the trainer ordered his Poochyena to Tackle Torchic, it was able to knock back Torchic a good distance. Despite this, Torchic was still coherent enough to understand May's order to Scratch the Poochyena again, and powerful enough to cause the other Pokémon to faint with its attack.  
The young boy recalled his Poochyena, and May recalled her Torchic. The boy approached her, saying, "Argh, your Pokémon are strong. Maybe I should have trained more…" May responded, "Don't worry. I'm sure your Pokémon will become much stronger with enough training!" The boy thanked her for her kind words, and they parted ways. May walked back to the Pokémon Center in Oldale Town, and healed Torchic. After the nurse was done, she went back to Route 102. After sending out Torchic and Ralts, she kneeled down again.

"You did a great job, Torchic! That was a wonderful display!" Torchic cried in delight, "Torchic-Tor-Tor!" Ralts, on the other hand, looked annoyed.  
-(Why did you just send me out and then immediately recall me?!)-  
"Well, here's the thing… You don't have any attacks, do you?"  
-(W-What?! I mean, err, I know how to Growl…)- Ralts seemed shocked at this realization.  
"Well, I'm sorry, but until you manage to learn an attack, you can't really fight."  
-(Y-Yes I can! I can growl perfectly!)- "Well, growling isn't going to defeat other Pokémon, you know." At this, Ralts simply turned around and crossed her arms.  
"Look, when you get an attack, I'll promise to let you fight. Until then, though, we're just going to have to do what we did earlier again and again."  
-(Fine…)-  
"Alright! I'll even let your sit on my shoulder until we encounter another trainer." At this, Ralts perked up significantly. She eagerly scrambled towards May, and was then lifted onto May's shoulder.

(Perspective shift)

After being lifted onto May's left shoulder, Ralts began to think.  
*This really is nice… not having to deal with walking, or being in a confined space… Wait! Gyah, I forgot! I'm this trainer's slave! Hmmph. If she thinks she can break my spirit with promises of fighting with other slaves and effortless traveling, she can think again! It'll take more than that to break this Ralts!*  
Ralts sighed. She thought back to her days as a free Pokémon, when the only troubles were her parents and her siblings…

(Flashback)

Ralts wandered around the quiet glade where her family lived. Her parents, a Gardevoir and a Gallade, were over by a river, gathering water with crudely-woven wooden baskets. Her two siblings, both Kirlia, were sitting on a fallen, mossy log, conversing. They were a nomadic family who wandered around Hoenn. The parents believed that staying in one place would attract other Pokémon, or worse: humans. Most of them feared and hated humans. This hatred of humans stemmed from the capture of one of their number, another female Ralts. She was captured by a female human who had psychic powers and wore a dark purple turtleneck. Despite the family's best efforts, the Ralts was captured by the psychic woman, who then used another of her Pokémon to teleport away. After this occurrence, they began to harbor distrust of all humans. Whenever they detected a nearby human, they quickly moved away to another area of Hoenn. Ralts disliked this lifestyle, as she believed it would not sustain them forever. And besides that, the constant travel made her feet hurt.  
She had decided to confront her parents on their lifestyle earlier, and it had resulted in a… heated argument, to say the least. She remembered both her father's rage and her mother's sadness vividly.

"Do not question our way of life, young lady! We are far more sensible than you are! You don't know anything about the world!"  
"Father, I think you're the one who doesn't understand the world! The humans are going to expand and settle all of the wild areas! At this rate, we'll have nowhere left to run to! We have to settle and start a solid resistance, instead of running at the first sign of trouble!"  
"And what will happen when we start causing a commotion?! They will come at us in force, and they will obliterate us!"  
"Running away is not the answer!"  
"You will not question my authority!"  
"I'll do what I please!"  
"With that kind of attitude-"

"STOP!" The rest of the family all looked towards the source of the sound. "PLEASE, STOP ARGUING!" The other parent, Gardevoir, looked extremely distressed by the argument.  
"Please, don't do this! You're not making things any better by arguing over what we're to do!"  
Both Gallade and Ralts stepped back. Gardevoir was generally quiet, but when she was angered or upset, she could be extremely dangerous, whether she meant to be or not. She didn't have the best grasp on her psychic powers, which meant that when she was overloaded by negative emotions, the results could be… explosive.  
"Just… please… stop…" The family released a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Gardevoir's emotions usually just simmered down, but there was always the chance of something catastrophic happening.  
Gallade sat down on a knee to talk to Ralts. "I am going to go to the river and gather water with your mother. We will discuss this later, young lady." And with that, her parents went to river.

Ralts looked at them from the other end of the glade. She knew that they were likely so distracted that she could likely slip away before they would notice. She knew that if they were to finish gathering water early, however, she would likely get another scolding, and they might prevent her from going out and exploring again. It was a risk she was willing to take, however, if only for a quiet, calm period of solitude.  
Before she could do that, however, her siblings noticed that she was trying to slip away, and managed to corner her.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked her brother, a normal Kirlia. He was a spitting image of his father, and it showed in his xenophobia.  
"Please, don't leave us without a warning of some kind," said her remaining sister, a shiny Kirlia, who had blue hair, blue legs, and orange horns on each side of her head, in contrast to the standard green hair, green legs, and red horns of most Kirlia. Unlike the rest of the family, she was actually open to the idea of serving under humans. This made her the most disliked of the three remaining siblings, at least in her father's eyes. Her mother was the one who generally taught her things, such as how to utilize her psychic powers.  
Ralts grimaced. Her brother was unlikely to let her run off without her father's permission, and she didn't particularly want to have to ask her sister for help. This would be tricky…  
She decided to just tell the truth outright.  
"I just want to get away for a bit, let off some steam…"  
"You know father would disapprove of this."  
"Please, you don't want to make mother upset. You know what will happen…"  
Ralts groaned. Of course they would both be against her in this situation. She tried to think of a way out of this…

"Well, they would understand that I would want to just go out and calm down. We're going to migrate soon, and the last thing they would want is for me to be angry during the trip…"  
"Well, I suppose father wouldn't mind…"  
"Mother would certainly appreciate not having to deal with the stress…"  
Ralts grinned. "Then it's agreed. I'll be able to go out for a while, calm down, and I'll come back after I'm done."  
The two Kirlia nodded in agreement.  
"Just… be careful. You know what happened when your other sister was caught…"  
"Perhaps you could find a kinder trainer than the other one we encountered. You might go on an adventure!"  
Both Ralts and the male Kirlia gave dirty looks towards the female Kirlia.  
"Sorry… I just hope that one day, we might be able to get along with humans…"  
"That's enough, sister. Ralts, you can go now."  
Ralts nodded. She just needed a bit of solitude. She would be back before her parents even thought about her.

(End of flashback)

Ralts smiled bitterly. If only she had known how that would have ended, then maybe she wouldn't have been in this situation.  
Suddenly, she came back into reality. While she was reminiscing, they had gone through several battles with other trainers, and now they were in Petalburg City.  
"Well, here we are! Petalburg City!" May's voice had lost none of its sickeningly sweet charm.  
"My dad's the Gym Leader here. We're actually from Johto, but we moved here after dad got a position as a Gym Leader here. Ahh, I miss Ethan…"  
Ralts' curiosity was piqued by this odd remark. -(Who's this Ethan?)-  
May quickly realized her slip. "Whoops! Oh, he's just a friend I had when I lived in Johto. I still miss him a lot."  
-(I see. Interesting.)-  
"Anyways, let's get you two healed up. We're going to go challenge the Gym next!"  
-(Hmm… interesting…)-

**Author's Note:** Well, that was longer than I intended it to be! I apologize if I don't give accurate descriptions of the characters (or if I don't give them descriptions at all), but it would probably give you a better image of them if you looked up images of them. Just… be careful. Have Safesearch or whatever on.  
Anyways, besides that, don't worry if you dislike Ralts' pessimistic attitude (or worry if you happen to like it). I plan on rectifying that situation in the next chapter. Hehehe.  
Also, this story is intended to be based primarily on the games rather than the anime or manga, so expect some game-based concepts (no Ash or Max, battles are going to be turned based, etc.). However, there are going to be some anime based concepts (evolution mid-battle, the nurses will be called Nurse Joys, etc.), so it's going to be a bit of a mix of the two concepts. So, this should be interesting.


	3. Chapter 3: The Turning Point

_So, third chapter. Oh boy, this is gonna be where the adventure part of the story really starts. I hope. I would hate for this to fall flat on its face. Also, I've made a minor change to the dialogue key to make it more accurate. Here is the new dialogue key:_  
_"Example."=Standard talking._  
_*Example.*=Thoughts/sound effect. (Note that I may sometimes state what a character is/was thinking.)_  
_-(Example)-=Telepathy. (This is going to be Ralts' way of communication.)_  
_(Example)=A shift in perspective, time and/or location._  
_Let's get this road on the show. Wait a minute…_

May walked into the Petalburg Pokémon Center with her two Pokémon and noticed something very odd: the nurse from Oldale Town was here. However, there was something a bit odd: she seemed a bit… buffer, than before…

"W-wait! What? I'm confused! How did you- what is this- huh?!"  
The nurse looked at her, rather amused. "Oh, you must have met one of my sisters before."  
"W-what do you mean sisters?!"  
"There are 16 of us in all! That's how many I remember there being in this region, at least."  
"There are 16 of you?!"  
"That's what I just said, isn't it?" The nurse was giggling a little.  
"Don't be embarrassed about this. You're far from the first trainer that made this mistake."  
May then calmed down a bit from her frantic fit, but then another question popped into her mind.  
"Erm, do you nurses have, um, names?" The nurse responded, "We certainly do. All 16 of us are named Joy."  
"All of you? How do you nurses tell each other apart?"  
"Well, for one, we all have our own distinct traits. For example, I have these muscles here…"  
She emphasized the point by flexing one of her arms.  
"I see… Well, what do you call each other if all of all of you are named Joy?"  
"Well, we also all have different first names, which is how we identify ourselves when talking to each other."  
"That's pretty neat? Say, what happens to be your name?"  
"Well, I'm afraid we're not supposed to tell non-Joys our names. We prefer to keep personal information to ourselves, you see."  
"Aww, I wanted to know your name so I could call you by it. Oh well…"  
"I'm sorry. Anyways, do your Pokémon need to be healed?"  
"Oh, that's right! Okay guys, time to get in your Poké Balls." May recalled Torchic, and was about to recall Ralts before she noticed something odd: Ralts appeared to be staring at Nurse Joy.  
"Uh, Ralts? Are you alright?" Ralts suddenly snapped out of whatever fantasy she was in. -(Oh, yeah, I'm ok…)- "If you say so…" With that, May recalled Ralts and handed over the two Poké Balls. Nurse Joy then put them both into the machine.  
While her Pokémon were healing, she thought about how far she had travelled. From New Bark Town in Johto to Littleroot Town in Hoenn, she had travelled a long way. And yet, she knew that she had much farther to travel.  
May was snapped out of her reverie by Nurse Joy telling her that the Pokémon were finished healing. May thanked her and took her Poké Balls back. She walked outside and then released both Torchic and Ralts from their Poké Balls. She knelt down and began to talk to them.

"Alright, guys, you're both healed up, and now we're gonna take on the Petalburg Gym!"  
Torchic responded to this news eagerly, and, surprisingly, Ralts didn't even seem to mind the idea. They ran off towards the Gym. After walking in, they saw a middle-aged man in a red shirt talking to a young boy with a white shirt and greenish hair.

"Now, do you know how to catch a Pokémon?"  
"Well, no sir, but…"  
May interrupted their conversation with a loud "Hey dad!" She ran up to the man and hugged him.  
"Calm down, May! You interrupted me while I was trying to explain something to Wally!"  
May released her hug, saying, "Sorry, dad. But you know I really wanted to see you again."  
"I know, darling. Say, you know how to catch a Pokémon, right?"  
"I sure do, dad!"  
"Well then, could you do me a favor and go teach Wally here how to do so?"  
May turned around and took a look at the young boy.  
"Er, I-I'm Wally. I came here to see if I could get a Pokémon from Norman so I could try to catch a wild one…" May noticed that he talked very quietly, and appeared to be quite timid.  
"Don't worry, Wally! Dad can lend you one of his Pokémon, and I can teach you how to catch one!"  
"R-really?! You two would do that for me?"  
"Sure, Wally! We'll get you a Pokémon in no time!"  
Norman then gave Wally a Poké Ball, saying, "Here. You can use this little guy to catch yourself a Pokémon."  
"Th-thank you both… Mr. Norman… I…"  
"Don't mention it, Wally. Now May, you go escort him to Route 102, and show him how to catch a Pokémon."  
May happily complied with his request, and with Wally and her two Pokémon in tow, began walking towards Route 102.

(Route 102)

"Okay, so what you do is you walk around in the tall grass." Wally did as she instructed.  
"When a Pokémon jumps out, you use the one Norman gave you to weaken it up a bit. Then, you throw your Poké Ball. It's not guaranteed to work, but if you have more Poké Balls, you can always toss another."  
"O-okay, May. I'll look around and see if I can-GYAH!"  
The reason for Wally's sudden surprise was that a purple caterpillar-like thing, a Wurmple, had jumped out of the grass. Wally stood up and threw the Poké Ball Norman had given him at the ground. Out came a Zigzagoon, a small, raccoon like Pokémon. May and her two Pokémon watched from the sidelines.  
"Okay, Zigzagoon, Tackle it!"  
The Zigzagoon did as he ordered, and the Wurmple was knocked to the ground. However, it still was able to get back up. Wally then reached into his bag and threw a Poké Ball at it. It was taken into the ball, and though it struggled, the ball clicked, and it was captured.

"Good work, Wally! You caught that Pokémon!"  
"I did it… It's my… My Pokémon! May, thank you! Let's go back to the gym!"

(Petalburg Gym)

After arriving at the gym and returning the Zigzagoon to Norman, Wally released his newly-caught Wurmple from its Poké Ball. Something unusual happened after it came out, however: it sparkled, if only for a moment or two.  
Norman seemed a bit entranced by it.  
"Whoa. Wally, do you know what this is?"  
Wally seemed confused. "N-no sir. I mean, it's a Wurmple, but…"  
"This isn't a normal Wurmple you just caught. This is a Shiny Pokémon."  
"A-a Shiny Pokémon?"  
"Yes. Shiny Pokémon are rare, differently colored variants of standard Pokémon. Wurmple are normally colored pink, but this one is purple."  
"How rare are these kinds of Pokémon?"  
"If I remember correctly, you have a 1 in 8,192 chance of finding one."  
"Woah, these Shiny Pokémon are super rare…"  
"Consider yourself lucky to have caught one. I myself have only caught one in all of my travels."  
Wally knelt down and picked up his Wurmple. It seemed more confused than anything. Ralts noticed that it didn't even seem angry at having been caught. She passed this off as it being rather unintelligent.

"You're going to be my partner through all of my travels. We're going to play together, battle together, travel together…"  
As Wally went on and on, Ralts was deep in thought. The Wurmple didn't seem angry at all. It almost seemed… happy that it had been captured. She initially thought that it was because the Wurmple was unintelligent, but even an unintelligent Pokémon should be angry that it was taken from the wild. Something was off here…  
While Wally was talking to Wurmple, May spoke to her father.  
"Dad, we came to take the gym challenge. Are you okay with that?"  
"May, I'm afraid that you're not strong enough to fight me, yet."  
"What do you mean, I'm not strong enough yet?!"  
"What I mean is that both you and your Pokémon are too inexperienced to face me. I could easily defeat you."  
"But dad…"  
"I have an idea. Why don't you go to Rustboro City and fight Roxanne, the gym leader there. She's more on your level of skill."  
"Okay, dad…" May looked saddened by this turn of events.  
"May, if you're able to get at least four gym badges, I promise, I'll accept your challenge."  
May perked up significantly after hearing this. "All right! Okay, guys, we can't challenge dad yet, but if we get at least four gym badges, he'll accept our challenge!"  
Torchic responded enthusiastically, whereas Ralts looked a little disappointed. -(I was hoping to be able to see how your father's Pokémon feel to being enslaved.)-  
May sighed. "Ralts, will you stop that?"  
-(I'm sorry that I understand that they're actually slaves and not partners.)-  
May groaned. It was no use arguing with Ralts; her belief that caught Pokémon were slaves was too strong. All May could hope for was that Ralts would soften up eventually.

(A while later)

May, Torchic, and Ralts stood at the entrance to Petalburg Woods. In order to get to Rustboro City, they would have to go through this forest.  
They had encountered several trainers along the way, and they had used the usual strategy: send out Ralts initially, swap Ralts for Torchic, defeat the trainer's Pokémon using Torchic. Ralts was almost strong enough that she could actually attack, but she needed just a bit more experience in battle. Torchic, on the other hand, became strong enough that it could breathe small flames, so it had become much more effective in battle.  
"So, here it is. Petalburg Woods. I wonder what's in this place…"  
-(Let's go inside, I guess. It's not like we have anything better to do.)-  
With that short banter, they went into the forest. It was quite dark, not quite dark enough to obscure vision entirely, but dark enough so that it was somewhat difficult to see. Occasional light rays penetrated through the treetops, and this helped the trio's vision. After travelling a short distance, they came across a peculiar scene: an employee of some kind being harassed by a man wearing a striped shirt and a blue bandana bearing a peculiar symbol.

"Hand over those papers and I won't have to hurt you!" "W-what?" "You heard what I said! Hand 'em over!" The employee looked around frantically before noticing May.  
"You there! You're a Pokémon trainer, aren't you! You have to help me, please!"  
Before May could get a word out, the employee ran behind her and put May between him and the other man.  
The other man seemed disgruntled by this.  
"Hunh? What do you think you're doing? What, you're going to protect him?"  
May, despite how quickly everything had happened, stayed levelheaded.  
"What do you think you're doing, harassing this guy? What's so important that he has?"  
This seemed to annoy the man further.

"You've forced my hand, missy! No one who crosses Team Aqua gets any mercy, not even a little girl! Poochyena, go!"  
With that he threw out a Poké Ball and released a Poochyena.  
"If you want a battle, you're gonna get one! Torchic, go!" Torchic leapt out in front of May, ready for a fight.  
"Torchic, use Ember!" Torchic then fired out a flurry of small fireballs at the Poochyena. Most of them manage to hit the Poochyena, which significantly damaged it. A few, however, happened to stray from the target and hit a few bushes. While this fortunately did not cause a fire, this did upset a swarm of Dustox, a Pokémon with a purple, egg-shaped body, green wings, and yellow compound eyes.  
These Dustox were, understandably, not happy about almost being hit with several fireballs. They flapped their wings strongly, causing several gusts of wind to buffet the intruders. The Poochyena was blown away outright, and Ralts was knocked back into a bush. Even Torchic was pushed back a few feet. After they were done using Gust, they began tackling both the humans and the Pokémon.

(Perspective shift)

Though Ralts had been knocked into a bush, she was still in good condition. She noticed that the employee had run off. She did not know, however, if it was to get help, due to cowardice, or both. She decided she could reflect on that later. For now, the Dustox were launching themselves at May and the strange man. The man ran off into the woods, followed by a small swarm of Dustox. A much larger swarm was enveloping May in a cloud of poisonous dust. Torchic quickly got up and fired several small fireballs at the Dustox, but some broke off of the main swarm and enveloped Torchic as well. Soon, Torchic was fainted, and the Dustox went back into the swarm currently attacking May.  
Ralts watched this from a distance, conflicted as to what to do. Should she abandon May and be free from her, or should she help May? Part of her said that May wanted Ralts to be a slave, to obey her every will mindlessly. Yet, a part, a very small part, said that Ralts should help May. May wasn't even remotely cruel. She swapped Ralts out whenever a battle occurred so that Ralts could get stronger without being in danger. As Ralts was pondering over this, May was standing her ground against the Dustox, head down, attempting to cover her face in order to prevent the dust from being breathed in. However, the Dustox were showering her in poison powder, which nearly guaranteed that she was breathing a large deal in. Suddenly, Ralts heard May yell something.

"R-*cough*-R-Ralts! Get Tor-*cough*-Torchic out of *cough* here! Just… just *cough* forget about me! *cough*"  
Ralts' thoughts were racing upon hearing this. She didn't know whether to abandon them both, get Torchic to safety and leave May to deal with the Dustox alone, or to try to drive away the Dustox. This could be her last chance for real freedom, for a life without taking orders. Yet, Torchic was innocent and had no bearing on May's orders, so she could at least save Torchic… And again, that small part kept saying to help May, to fight the Dustox. May had cared so much for Ralts, even to the point of urging Ralts to get to safety… To ignore May, who was in a life-threatening situation… Yet one thought was provoked whenever Ralts thought of saving May: how would she do that? She didn't know any attacks, unless growling counted…  
Suddenly, a streak of pain went through Ralts' brain. It was only momentary, however, and after the pain receded, Ralts' mind suddenly seemed clearer, more powerful than before. This gave her confidence, confidence that she could drive away the Dustox. She concentrated her mind, and suddenly it seemed even clearer than it had been after the pain. She concentrated harder…

(Perspective shift)

May was not doing well. She was swarmed with Dustox, who were all showering poison on her. She knew that the situation was grim. She had noticed a part of the swarm attack and faint Torchic, and Ralts was nowhere to be seen. She could only hope that Ralts had heard her, and was taking Torchic away… She began crying a bit. She had hoped to do so much… to get all of the badges, to face Norman, to get Ralts to warm up… All of those ambitions, going to end here…

Suddenly, she noticed something strange. The poison had stopped falling on her. She looked up…  
And saw the Dustox, all suspended in midair, each with a blue aura of some kind surrounding them.  
Then, she watched as they were all simultaneously thrown onto the ground. And then they came back up… And then back down. This occurred several times, until finally, they were all thrown into the bushes, where they came from.  
May turned around, and saw Ralts, her eyes glowing blue. Her eyes then faded back to their original color, and Ralts fell to the ground. Before she could get to Ralts, she saw the Petalburg Nurse Joy rush onto the scene, followed by the employee. After looking at Ralts and Torchic, Nurse Joy then rushed over to May.

"Are you all right? This Devon employee came running into the Pokémon Center, telling me to come to Petalburg Woods. I ran there, and here you three are."  
""I … *hack* …could be doing better…"  
"Oh no, you've been poisoned, badly. Did the Dustox swarms get you, too?"  
"I'd… *wheeze* … say so…"  
"Oh no, we have to get you to the Pokémon Center, STAT. You! The Devon employee! You gather up this girl's Pokémon and get them to the Pokémon Center as soon as you can. I'll be taking her to the Pokémon Center myself."  
The employee nodded, and went to pick Torchic and Ralts up. Meanwhile, Nurse Joy picked up May and began running towards the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy tried desperately to soothe May into sleep.  
"Please, just rest. We'll get you and your Pokémon to the Center, and then everything will be alright." "O-*hack*-okay…"  
Soon, they were at the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy rushed in, and carried May into one of the back rooms. She set May down on a hospital bed, and began to get various things out of the drawers and cupboards. She put a damp cloth on May's head, and gave her a Pecha Berry to help dull the effects.  
"Here," she said, "eat this. It'll make you feel better." May did as she complied, and Nurse Joy was relieved when the effects of the poisoning seemed to wear off a bit. Suddenly a question popped into Nurse Joy's head. She knew it wasn't the best of times, but her curiosity got the better of her.  
"You know, I haven't actually learned your name yet. If you can, would you mind telling me what it is?"  
May, despite being tired and sick, still managed to hear the request. In response, she said, "Sure… My name's… May…" And with that, she was out cold.

**Author's Note**: Holy crap, that was a long chapter. This chapter marks the end of Ralts' pessimism (part of it, at least) and the beginning of her optimism about humans and Pokémon co-existing. I apologize if I diverge too much from the storyline for my own personal reasons (the Petalburg Nurse Joy being muscular is a prime example), but I think it adds my own personal style to it. Also, this is my second chapter I've posted today. 'Cuz I love you gaiz. That, and I don't have much else to do. Anyways, feel free to review, tell me what you liked and didn't like, etc.


	4. Chapter 4: May's Story, Ralts' Feelings

_Alright, guys, chapter 4. After what happened in the last chapter, from now on, Ralts is gonna be gradually warming up to the idea of partnership with May. So, for those who disliked the pessimistic Ralts who believed that caught Pokémon were slaves to humans, congrats! Now she's gonna be much less like that. For those who liked that Ralts, sorry, I just don't think it would make for a good fic if Ralts were always moaning about how she believed that trainers enslave Pokémon._  
_Anyways, as usual, here is the dialogue key._  
_"Example."=Standard talking._  
_*Example.*=Thoughts/sound effect. (Note that I may sometimes state what a character is/was thinking.)_  
_-(Example)-=Telepathy. (This is going to be Ralts' way of communication.)_  
_(Example)=A shift in perspective or time._  
_With that done, let's get this showroad on the roadshow._

May woke up from her sleep groggily. She didn't recognize where she was, nor did she remember much, but then she saw something that jogged her memory: the Petalburg Nurse Joy, walking around the medical room, gathering medicines. Nurse Joy noticed that May was awake, and urged her to go back to sleep.  
"You're still sick from the Dustox's poison. Please, just rest some more."  
May wearily responded, "If you say so…" and closed her eyes. She thought about the beginning of her journey, just after they had moved to Hoenn…

(Flashback)

May walked outside of her home in Littleroot Town. Her mother had asked her to go visit Professor Birch, her neighbor and a friend of her father. She walked across the town and went into a house just a few yards away from theirs. Upon entering, she was greeted by a middle-aged woman with dark blonde hair.  
"Oh, hello. And you are?"  
"I'm May, your new neighbor!"  
"Oh, I see! Well, welcome to Littleroot Town! I hope the trip wasn't too rough."  
"It wasn't bad. Actually, I came over to see if I could meet the professor."  
"I'm afraid he's out in the field somewhere, studying Pokémon. However, we do have a son, about the same age as you. He seemed excited about making a new friend. Why don't you go upstairs and meet him?"  
"I sure will. Thanks!" With that, May walked over to the staircase and started up the stairs.

When she got to the top of the stairs, she saw a boy with black pants, a red shirt with a black pattern, green wristbands, a green headband, and what appeared to be white hair. He was packing things into a green backpack, but stopped when he saw May. He said, "Hey! You must be our new neighbor!"  
May responded, "Yep, that's me! My name's May."  
"The name's Brendan. Nice to meet you! I heard about you from my dad, Professor Birch. Were you looking for him?" "Yeah, I was, but your mom sent me up here to see you."  
"She did? Heh, she must have remembered that I mentioned I wanted to make a new friend. Anyways, dad's probably out on Route 101, looking for Pokémon to study."  
"I'll go out there, then. Thanks for the info!" She turned back around and started going down the stairs.  
Before she could get to the first floor, however, Brendan called out, "May, wait! Before you go, remember to be careful. It's dangerous to go out into tall grass unless you have a Pokémon of your own."  
"Thanks for the warning, Brendan. I'll make sure to be careful." And with that, she walked down the stairs, out the door, and towards Route 101.

(Route 101)

After walking only a few feet into Route 101, she saw a man wearing a white lab coat, a dark blue undershirt, and light green shorts being chased by a small, raccoon-like Pokémon. Nearby, there was a satchel lying on the ground.  
The man cried, "H-help! Someone help me!" He ran around frantically, the Pokémon hot on his tail. Finally, he jumped onto a tree with surprising agility, and was able to get out of the Pokémon's reach. Looking around, he noticed May observing the scene. He called out, "Hello! You, over there! Please, help me! I have three Poké Balls in my bag! Choose one, and drive away this Zigzagoon!"  
May ran over to the bag, and saw three Poké Balls. She grabbed the one lying in the middle, and threw it at the ground. Out popped a Torchic, a Fire-type Pokémon. Though Torchic seemed confused, it immediately saw that the Zigzagoon had to be defeated. May noticed that there was a sticker on the back of the Poké Ball she chose. It read:

Pokémon: Torchic  
Level: 5  
Type: Fire  
Gender: Male  
Nature: Brave  
Primary Moves: Scratch, Growl

She smiled, and then yelled, "Torchic! Use Scratch on that Zigzagoon!"  
The Torchic, though disoriented, still obeyed her orders. It outstretched its claws and scratched the Zigzagoon's back. The Zigzagoon turned around to face its attacker, and then retaliated by Tackling Torchic. The Torchic quickly recovered from this, and May ordered it to scratch the Zigzagoon again. This time, the Zigzagoon seemed far more winded from the attack, but regardless, it once again retaliated with a tackle. This time, though, it was off-target, and went flying past Torchic. May ordered Torchic to attack one more time, and the Zigzagoon finally fainted. Torchic then happily ran over to May and began to run around her legs.  
The man then nimbly jumped off of the tree and walked over to May. "Thanks for the help. I was in the tall grass studying wild Pokémon when I got jumped by that Zigzagoon. Anyways, let's go back to the Pokémon Lab. Now's not the time for chatting." And with that, they started back towards Littleroot Town.

(A little while later)

After reaching the Pokémon Lab, the man sat down on a chair and finally introduced himself.  
"Oh dear, I forgot to tell you my name. You likely inferred this already, but I'm Professor Birch. You must be May."  
"That's right!" Torchic was now in her arms, sleeping contently.  
"I've heard much about you from your father, Norman. I've heard you don't have a Pokémon yet, but given how you battled earlier, I'd say that you have your father's blood in your veins. With that said, allow me to give you the Torchic you used earlier."  
"R-really?! I can have it?!"  
"Certainly! It's the least I can do for the girl who rescued me from that Zigzagoon. Speaking of which, could you do me a favor and not mention that incident to Brendan? The last thing I need another incident which he can endlessly tease me about."  
"I promise I won't mention any of that to Brendan. Wow, my own Pokémon…"  
Torchic was still sleeping in May's arms, occasionally snoring. May thought about all the wonderful adventures they would have together…

(End of flashback)

May opened her eyes again. This time, she immediately remembered what had happened and where she was. She also noticed something odd: Ralts was standing beside her on the bed.  
-(May? Are you alright?)-  
"Yeah, Ralts, I'm fi- wait, you just called me May!  
-(What? What do you mean?)-  
"You've never called me May before. In fact, I've never seen you actually care about me before."  
-(W-well, err, um… Remember that swarm of Dustox that was attacking you, and how you told me to abandon you, to get Torchic and to run for it?)-  
"Yeah, I remember that…"  
-(I think when you said that, and I saw that you were willing to sacrifice yourself for us, I think that's when I realized that we weren't just slaves to you; we were friends. You wouldn't sacrifice yourself for slaves. I finally realized that just because Pokémon follow their trainers' orders, that doesn't mean they're slaves. It just means that the Pokémon trust their trainers, to the point where they're willing to obey their trainers' orders.)- While she was saying this, a small smile grew across Ralts' face.  
"Ralts… I'm glad you've finally decided to change your view, to view trainers' Pokémon as friends, not slaves…" Then, without warning, May grabbed out and hugged Ralts tightly against her chest. Ralts, it should be said, did not appreciate this act of kindness.

*GACK* -(STOP! I DID NOT SAY YOU HAD PERMISSION TO DO THIS! YOU'RE SUFFOCATING ME! STOP IT, NOW!)- Despite Ralts' pleas, May did not let up on her death-hug, nor did she show any signs of letting up. Suddenly, May's arms began glowing with a blue aura, and were forcibly yanked away from Ralts. Ralts' eyes were blue, just as they were when she was pummeling the Dustox swarm. She slowly backed away from May, until she was firmly out of May's reach. The blue aura around May's arms then receded, as did the blue in Ralts' eyes.

-(Do not **ever** do that again, or I will **not** be afraid to make your life as painful as possible.)-  
"Sorry, I might have gotten a bit carried away there…" Suddenly, Ralts slumped over, prompting May to reach out and grab her.  
-(DON'T YOU **DARE** TRY TO HUG ME AGAIN!)- May made sure to not hug Ralts too tightly, and contemplated Ralts' appearance. She resembled a very small child in size, with thick legs that had wide tendrils on the backs of them, which made it look like she was wearing a dress. Her hair resembled a light green bowl that had been turned upside-down, and it was divided into two separate pieces by two red horns coming out of the front and back of her head. She had thin arms which grew slightly thicker at the ends. May realized how cute Ralts looked, especially when she was tired. She noticed that Ralts seemed to be breathing rather heavily now, which made her concerned.

"Are you okay, Ralts? You seem a bit tired out."  
-(I'm… okay… May… I'm… just… a… bit winded… from using my… psychic powers…)  
Suddenly, the thought hit May. How did Ralts become able to use psychic powers? Wasn't she limited to growling before?  
"How are you able to do that? You used to not be able to do anything but growl."  
Ralts looked up at her.  
-(I… I think it might have been because I was thinking so much… I was conflicted at what to do, to run or to help you… and I guess the brain activity caused my psychic powers to become manifest…)-  
"Or maybe you just needed to have a solid reason to use them. Whatever the cause, let's just be thankful they arrived when they did."  
-(Hehe, yeah… Ugh, I need to get used to doing that…)-  
"You'll have plenty of time to mentally train yourself, Ralts. You'll have plenty of time. But for now, I think it would be better if you just rested."  
-(Yeah, that would probably be a good idea…)-  
And with that, Ralts fell into a deep sleep. May held Ralts in a position one would use to hold a baby, and then smiled. It was good to know that Ralts had finally changed her mind about trainers and their Pokémon.

**Author's Note**: Sorry for the short and unexciting chapter, but considering what happened last time, I would say that these two deserve a bit of R&R. Don't worry, things are going to pick up soon. Next chapter, these two (plus Torchic) are going to be challenging the Rustboro Gym. Look forward to it.


	5. Chapter 5: Rustboro Gym

_You know, I have the feeling that I was supposed to put something here, but I forgot what it was. Anyways, back on subject, here we are, chapter 5. This is going to be May's first gym challenge, so look forward to it. As usual, here is the key of dialogue:_  
_"Example."=Standard talking._  
_*Example.*=Thoughts/sound effect. (Note that I may sometimes state what a character is/was thinking.)_  
_-(Example)-=Telepathy. (This is going to be Ralts' way of communication.)_  
_(Example)=A shift in perspective, time, and/or location, or a side-note._  
_With that done, let's get this train-show on the railroad._

After Ralts recovered from the mental drain of using Confusion, May picked up Torchic, said goodbye to the Petalburg Nurse Joy (and had to snap Ralts out of her fantasy again), and left Petalburg City. Once again, they traveled to Petalburg Woods, the Pokémon riding on her shoulders. While they were traveling through, they found the employee there again, apparently looking for something. May then asked, "Hey, weren't you that guy that was being harassed earlier?"  
The man turned around towards them, only just noticing them.

"Oh! It's you! Phew, I was worried about you three. I would have stayed at the Pokémon Center, but I had to deliver something to Mr. Stone, the head of the Devon Corporation. And once I got here, I got distracted by some Pokémon…"  
"It's fine. I heard about what you did from Nurse Joy. I'm really glad that you were there; otherwise, I might not be here right now."  
"Well, I was glad to help, but I also have to thank you. You were the one who protected me from that goon earlier."  
"No problem. Do you know anything about that guy?"  
"Unfortunately, I only know four things about him: he's part of a gang called Team Aqua, he tried to get the goods I was to deliver to Mr. Stone, he was under the belief that they were papers, and he had horrible fashion sense."  
May, ignoring his comment about the man's clothes (though she had to admit they were very odd), asked, "Do you know anything about Team Aqua?"  
The man shook his head. "I don't know anything about them, besides the fact that they apparently wanted my goods. Actually, could I ask a favor?"  
"What do you want? We'd be more than happy to help you, as long as the request isn't too ridiculous."  
"I simply want to travel to Petalburg with you. I have no Pokémon to defend myself, and I'm afraid that Team Aqua might want send more grunts to try and steal the goods."  
"Sure! We're happy to help." Torchic chimed in with an enthusiastic "Torchic!"  
"Thank you, thank you! I promise, I will make it worth your while." After he was done speaking, they began traveling deeper into the forest.

While they were traveling, they were approached by a young boy with a wide-brimmed hat, a bug-catching net, and a shoulder bag.  
"Hey, you! You're a trainer, right? Want to have a battle?"  
"Sure, we're up for a battle, right Torchic?" Torchic happily responded, "Torchic! Torchic!"  
-(Wait, May. Let me try. I need to get used to using my psychic powers, and to do that, I'll need to use them more often.)-  
"But Ralts-"  
-(Please? Just for me?)-  
"Fine, but don't overwork yourself. Alright, here we go! Ralts, I choose you!"

Ralts jumped off of May's shoulder and onto the ground. The young boy threw out a Poké Ball, and out came a Nincada, a small Pokémon with a white body, thin, white back legs, thick, brown forelegs, and small green wings on its back. "Nincada, use Scratch!" The Pokémon leaped at Ralts and scratched her with its forelegs. This didn't do much damage to Ralts, and May ordered her to use Confusion. Ralts' eyes began glowing blue, as did the Nincada. The Nincada rose into the air, and then was slammed into the ground. May then ordered Ralts to follow up with another confusion. This time, Ralts bashed the Nincada against a tree using her psychic powers. When Ralts released her psychic grasp, the Nincada fell to the ground, fainted. The bug catcher recalled his Pokémon, and sent out a Wurmple. Ralts suddenly fell to the ground, though she was able to get back up.  
May voiced her concern, saying, "Ralts, I think you should let Torchic handle this one. Like I said, you shouldn't overwork yourself."  
-(Fine. I think I'm getting better at this, but I guess it would be stupid to keep going like this..)-

With that, May recalled Ralts, and sent out Torchic. She ordered Torchic to use Ember on the Wurmple, which fainted from the super-effective attack. The bug catcher sighed, and then recalled his Wurmple.  
"Your Pokémon were really good. I didn't expect them to be able to beat mine."  
"Don't put yourself down. Your Pokémon were pretty good, too."  
The two trainers then parted ways, with May continuing on towards Rustboro and the boy running off to look for more Bug Pokémon. They ran into no trainers for the rest of the trip.

(Rustboro City)

Once they arrived at Rustboro, the Devon employee thanked them, saying, "Thank you so much for accompanying me here. I'm going to go deliver my package to Mr. Stone. Here is your recompense, as promised." He then handed May several blue Poké Balls.  
"These are Great Balls. They're more effective at catching Pokémon than normal Pokémon."  
"Wow, thank you for these!"  
"Don't mention it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go deliver this to Mr. Stone." And with that, he ran off towards a tall building in the distance. Before May and her Pokémon could get to the gym, however, a young man in a white lab coat approached them.  
"You're May, right?"  
"Yep, that's me. Do you want something?"  
"Well, I'm one of Professor Birch's aides. He sent me to update your Pokédex's features. Would you mind handing me your Pokédex?"  
May did so, and the man proceeded to turn around and fiddle with the Pokédex. After a few seconds, he turned back around and revealed the newly upgraded Pokédex.

"Ta-da! The new and improved Pokédex. This version can tell you the moves of your own Pokémon, which can be very useful when your Pokémon learns new moves."  
At that moment, May realized that she had only gotten complete data on two Pokémon. She considered going back and catching more, but she chose to put it aside until she had beaten the Pokémon League. That was her main goal at this point.  
The aide looked at his watch. "Well, looks like I need to go. Be seeing you!" And then he ran off, evidently on some kind of business.  
May then looked at her surroundings. Tall buildings were all around, with roads weaving between them. The roads were packed with people, walking and in some cases running to wherever they needed to go. In the distance, a tall skyscraper with the letter D emblazoned on its front towered over the city. To her right, she noticed that there was what appeared to be a school of some kind. She walked along a road, Torchic close behind, when suddenly she bumped into a young girl wearing a school-dress.

The girl apologized, saying, "Oh! I'm sorry! I was so focused thinking about my studies that I didn't see you there."  
"It's alright, I wasn't really paying attention either. Say, could I ask you something?"  
"I believe you already did, but you can ask me something else, as well."  
May sighed, before asking, "Do you know where the Rustboro Gym is? I want to challenge the gym leader there, but I have no idea where it is."  
The girl pointed down the road they were on. "Keep on going until you reach the intersection. Once you get there, turn to the right. Down that road, the Gym is on the right side of the road, and the Pokémon Center is opposite it."  
"Thanks for the directions. See ya!" May ran off towards the intersection, Torchic close behind. Once they reached it, they turned right, and saw the Gym. It wasn't the most spectacular sight, a rectangular building with a Poké Ball symbol on it, but it was still obvious that it was the Gym. They took a moment to look at the building, and then ran off towards the Pokémon Center.

(A little while later, at the Pokémon Center)

After entering the Pokémon Center, the first thing the two did was look for the Rustboro Nurse Joy. While they were looking, something suddenly fell from the ceiling. The two were shocked by this occurrence, and after stepping back, they stared at it for a few seconds. The thing that had fallen down appeared was actually a woman, or at least it looked like one. The figure had on purple garb, with a nurse's cap on. They had several kunai attached to her belt, as well as what appeared to be a katana in its sheath. The figure had skillfully landed on one of its knees, and was seemingly unharmed. The figure slowly stood up, turned around…

And promptly recoiled in shock, just as May and Torchic had. The woman had a few tufts of pink hair poking out of the top of her garb, just above her eyes, which made it obvious that the ninja was also the Rustboro City Nurse Joy. Though muffled by cloth, her voice was still somewhat understandable.  
"Oh, I didn't see you there. I was just coming back from healing an injured Pokémon, and I didn't expect anyone to be in here. I assume that you want your Pokémon to be healed?"  
"Er, yes, I do." May then recalled Torchic and handed Nurse Joy both of the Poké Balls. The Nurse then put both of them in the machine. While they were waiting for them to finish healing, Nurse Joy began to converse with May.

"I apologize if my appearance or my way of entrance caught you off guard. I'm from Fuchsia City, a city in the Kanto region. I was trained to be a ninja from birth like many others there, but in the end, that didn't particularly appeal to me. I always had wanted to be a nurse, to heal Pokémon, so I ended up running off and learning how to heal and care for sick and injured Pokémon. After that, I travelled around, looking for an opening in a Pokémon Center. I found none in Kanto or Johto, but when I got to Hoenn, I heard that there was an opening here, so I applied for it, and... Well, you can see what happened after that."  
She then turned around and handed May her two Poké Balls. "Your Pokémon are now at full health. Feel free to come back again." Nurse Joy then nodded, and walked into one of the back rooms. May left the Pokémon Center, released both Torchic and Ralts, and ran across the road, towards the Rustboro Gym.

(In the Rustboro Gym)

The Rustboro Gym, despite its mundane outside appearance, was very unique on its inside. The interior walls made a maze of sorts, with occasional rocks sticking out of the floor. After entering the building, the trio was approached by a man with a green shirt and brown hair. "Yo, how's it going? Would you like to become the Champion? I'm no trainer, but I can sure give you winning advice. What do ya say?"  
"Sure. We could use all the help we can get."  
"It's settled, then! Say, you're Norman's kid, May, right?"  
"That's me!"  
"Haha, I could tell from the steely glint in your eyes! Your dad always had that, too. Anyways, Roxanne and the other trainers in here use Rock-type Pokémon. Rock types are sturdy against physical attacks, but they usually don't do so well against special attacks. They also can't stand Water, Grass, Fighting, or Ground type moves, so if you have any of those, use them as much as possible. Come see me afterwards, if you beat Roxanne. Well, go for it!"

May then started into the maze. She occasionally encountered trainers, but Torchic and Ralts were generally able to beat them. She also went back to the Pokémon Center often, as Ralts was still getting used to using her powers. As May was approaching the end of the maze, however, she was approached by not one, but two trainers at once. One was a young boy, similarly dressed to the one on Route 102, and the other was a man in hikers' garb.

The boy said, "Hey! You may think you're hot stuff, but you're 1,000 light-years from facing Roxanne!"  
The hiker sighed, saying, "Sorry about him. He's from Kanto, and he still hasn't quite yet figured out light years. Anyways, it's time for a double battle with the both of us. Do you know what a double battle is?"  
May responded, "Isn't it just a battle with 4 Pokémon instead of two?"  
"Yep, you have it down. Hehe, get ready, because we're coming at ya! Go, Geodude!"  
The boy also sent out a Geodude to face May. Both Torchic and Ralts jumped forward to face the two Geodude, which resembled rocks with two stony arms and a face. May ordered Torchic to use Ember on the boy's Geodude, and Ralts to use Confusion on the same Geodude after Torchic was done. The Geodude endured the Ember attack, but quickly fainted to the Confusion. The boy sent out another Geodude after recalling his fainted one, and the hiker's Geodude attempted to tackle Torchic. However, it ended up missing its attack. May then ordered Torchic to attack the boy's other Pokémon with another Ember, and Ralts was ordered to use Confusion on the hiker's Geodude. The results were the same as last time; the Geodude that was hit by Ember endured the hit, whereas the Geodude hit by Ralts' Confusion immediately fainted. The hiker recalled his fainted Pokémon, then sent out his other Geodude. Torchic was again ordered to use Ember, this time on the boy's injured Geodude, and Ralts used Confusion on the hiker's second Geodude. This time, the Ember was powerful enough to be able to faint the Geodude, and the confusion, once again, immediately fainted the Geodude it was used on. The young boy and the hiker then recalled their fainted Geodude.  
The hiker was the first to start talking again. "Well, girly, you're much tougher than I took you for. Be careful, though, Roxanne's tough. One of her Pokémon crushed a car once. Yeah, the whole thing. Just by, like, sitting on it."  
The boy appeared to be a bit confused, saying to himself, "Wait, light-years ARE time, right?"  
May giggled a bit, and then talked to her Pokémon.  
"Alright, guys, I think it would be a good idea to go back and get healed before the fight with the Gym Leader. What do you guys say?"  
Torchic didn't seem to particularly care for the idea, as he was perfectly healthy, and Ralts obviously disliked the idea.  
-(We're perfectly fine! What's the point in going back now when we have the leader just ahead?!)-  
May, though worried about Ralts' well-being, knew that Ralts was getting used to using her powers a lot more. They walked out of the maze, and went down a long set of stairs. Once they got to the bottom, they found they were in a room with a large field stretching across it. Walking back and forth on the field was the schoolgirl they had encountered earlier.

May, evidently surprised, said, "W-w-wait, aren't you that girl we met earlier?"  
The schoolgirl looked over at her. "Ah, yes, I did, in fact, run into you earlier. Rather literally, at that. Allow me to introduce myself, as I had not done so when we encountered each other earlier. I am Roxanne, the Rustboro City Gym Leader. Are you prepared for a battle?"  
May quickly recovered from her surprise, and responded, "We sure are!"

Roxanne then directed her to one end of the field, and then walked to the opposite end of the field. "Let us see how you have trained your Pokémon. Go, Geodude!" Out came yet another Geodude. May sighed. She was getting quite tired of seeing these things. Regardless, she sent out Ralts to defeat the Geodude. She simply ordered Ralts to use Confusion on the Geodude, and it instantly fainted.  
Roxanne seemed unfazed by this. "Interesting. Perhaps this Geodude will fare better."  
Another Geodude was then sent out onto the field.  
May ordered Ralts to use Confusion again. This time, however, something happened. While trying to use Confusion, a surge of pain suddenly went through Ralts' head. She fell to one knee, trying her best to recover.

-(Something's… wrong… I… can't…. AAAAUUUUGH!)- A horrifying shriek then echoed through the field, or at least it seemed like it did. Evidently Roxanne had heard this as well, as she was covering her ears with her hands.  
May quickly recovered from this, and recalled Ralts. She would have to talk to Ralts about this later. For now, though, she had to send out Torchic, as she had no other Pokémon.  
"Alright, Torchic, it's up to you, now! Use Ember!"  
Torchic did as it was directed, and the Geodude took a substantial amount of damage from the volley. However, it was still able to throw a heavy rock at Torchic, which hit Torchic directly on the forehead. May ordered Torchic to fire off another Ember at the Geodude. Despite the direct hit and the type advantage, Torchic was still able to use Ember once more, which finally fainted the Geodude.  
Roxanne seemed a little bit unnerved by this. However, she still kept her cool.  
"You may have defeated my two Geodude, but I still have an ace up my sleeve. Nosepass, go!"  
A Pokémon that resembled a chiseled Moai then appeared on the field. May grimaced. This was going to be a tough battle. She ordered Torchic to use Ember on the Pokémon. This time, however, the Pokémon didn't seem fazed at all. Roxanne ordered the Nosepass to tackle Torchic, which it did. Torchic was significantly winded by this, and when ordered to use Ember, was only able to produce three or four fireballs, which weren't able to damage Nosepass. Finally, Roxanne ordered Nosepass to deliver the coup de gras.  
"Nosepass, use Rock Tomb!" Nosepass leapt into the air, and landed hard on the ground. When this happened, several large rocks protruded from the ground, surrounding Torchic.  
"Great! Now, finish it off with a tackle from above!" Again, Nosepass leapt into the air, with the obvious intention of crushing Torchic. May felt sweat running down the side of her head. This could be the first time she lost a battle.

Suddenly, a white light penetrated through the rock tomb. Just as the Nosepass was about to land on the stone prison, the rock shattered, knocking back Nosepass and revealing Combusken, Torchic's evolved form. May gasped at the sight of Combusken. The Pokémon had thin, yellow, wing-like arms, attached to a body that had a yellow upper half and an orange lower half. At the end of both arms were three sharp claws. Its legs had become much thicker, with proper talons sticking out of them. A red crest stuck out of its head, and a small beak protruded from the front. There were two orange eyes that were positioned just above the beak. It was roughly twice as tall as it had previously been.  
May pulled out her Pokédex and scanned its moves. It now had Scratch, Ember, Peck, and Double Kick as its primary moves. She smiled as she realized Double Kick was a Fighting type attack, and thus was super-effective against Rock-types like Nosepass. A glimmer of hope had appeared.

"Alright, Combusken, use Double Kick!" Combusken ran forward and kicked Nosepass once, staggering it, and then followed up with another kick, knocking it back.  
At this point, Roxanne looked panicked. "Nosepass, get up! Get up!" Nosepass slowly but sure got up on its two legs. "Alright, now use Rock Tomb again!" This time, Nosepass only leapt a short distance into the air, and when it landed, it only produced a few rocks, which were scattered about the battlefield.  
"Combusken, finish off that Nosepass with another Double Kick!" Combusken ran up to the Nosepass again. It kicked Nosepass into the air, then leapt up. Combusken then kicked Nosepass again, which launched it a good distance backwards. This time, Nosepass was down for good.

Roxanne sighed, before recalling Nosepass. She then began walking over to May. While she was walking, she said, "Well, it looks like I still have more to learn. The Pokémon League's rules state that Trainers are to be given this when they defeat a Gym Leader. Please accept the official Pokémon League Stone Badge." With that, she handed over to May, a small badge resembling a rectangle with two of its corners chiseled. May then put the badge into her badge case. She quietly reflected upon this for a moment. This was her first badge.

That quiet solitude was quickly thrown out the top window of a ten-story apartment, and then trampled upon by a marching band. May pulled Combusken into a hug, which Combusken happily gave back. "Hahahaha! We got our first badge! I couldn't have done it without you, Combusken!" Combusken happily replied, "Busken-busk!" After they were done squeezing each other and laughing, Roxanne explained to May what it meant that she had the Stone Badge. "With the Stone Badge, the attack power of your Pokémon increases. It also allows you to use the Hidden Machine move Cut outside of battle. Also, please take this Technical Machine and this TM Case." She handed over a disc, and what appeared to be a large box with handles. "Inside this case, there are several slots to hold all of your TMs and HMs, a disc player, and headphones. To teach your Pokémon a move, you must insert the appropriate TM or HM into the disc player and then put the headphones on your Pokémon's ears, or at least hold them near its ears. When the disc stops playing, then your Pokémon has learned the move, and the TM can be discarded."  
"That's an interesting way of teaching moves. Anyways, I have to go to the Pokémon Center to get Combusken and Ralts fixed up. See ya later, and thanks for the battle!"  
"It was my pleasure." Roxanne watched as May and Combusken ran out of the room.  
As soon as she was sure they were gone, she went over to an otherwise nondescript wall, and tapped three times on it. It opened up to reveal a staircase leading downward. As she went down the stairs, she made sure to press the button next to the doors to conceal the fact that it was secretly a passageway. After making her way to the bottom of the stairs, she walked into a room illuminated by several terminals. She made her way to one of them, and began conversing with a mysterious figure.

"Apologies for the wait, sir, but I had to battle with a challenger. She managed to beat me, and I gave her the Stone Badge. She was a rather skilled trainer, I have to admit."  
A grave voice began speaking to her.  
"Now is not the time to discuss your challengers, R. T and L have both been hearing things about Team M in MD, and W2 has been noticing strange activity around LC. We have to act now, before… Wait, are you even listening to me?"  
Roxanne looked up from the book she had been reading.  
"Well, I'm sorry, but it's rather difficult to remember every codename that we have. Now, W2 means…"  
"Don't say the name aloud! If someone's listening to our conversation, they might be able to decipher it!"  
"It's honestly rather easily to decipher if you think about it, sir."  
Another voice, this one much less stern, suddenly chimed in.  
"Hey, don't insult my code! I spent a whole five minutes working on it!"  
Roxanne sighed. The grave voice continued again.  
"The point is, mysterious activity has been occurring around Hoenn. We need to find out what Team M and Team A are attempting to do, and we need to stop them before they can put it into action."  
Roxanne replied, "Agreed. You know, I'm pretty sure that the trainer who had challenged me earlier was N's daughter."  
The other voice asked, "Really? Interesting. Can you supply any details?"  
"She had a Torchic, which evolved during our fight, and a Ralts. They both seemed to trust her a good deal. Besides her wearing red, that's all I can really say."  
"Was she cute? Young? Bux-"  
The grave voice then said, "W3! Don't ask about things like that!"  
"But sir, what if I want to identify her! Something rather noticeable like that would help me find her!"  
"Then ask about less creepy things, like her hair or something! Besides, I don't think R's comfortable answering that kind of question."  
Roxanne piped in, saying, "No, S2, it's fine. Well, W3, she was quite young, around 10 years old, and she did seem quite… endowed…"  
"A-ha! Thank you, R! I shall make sure to look for a young girl in red clothes with those attributes! With this information, it will be easy to identify her!"  
S2 sighed. He wished that W3 wasn't such a pervert at times. Then again, they could use all of the help they could get, even from people like W3 who were far more optimistic than they should be. He thought about the challenger R had mentioned. Perhaps he would go looking for her himself. He decided to tell the two about this.

"R, W3, I believe I'm going to go search for this trainer myself."  
W3 seemed upset by this. "Hey! You just want to see if what R said is true, about her b-"  
"Dammit, W3, stop thinking about her chest! I no longer have any official Pokémon League duties to fulfill. You still do. If you leave, someone will have to take your place. If I go search for her, on the other hand, I won't have to have someone do my duties. It'll attract less suspicion."  
"Fine…"  
"Look, W3, if she's going around, gathering badges, maybe she'll eventually get strong enough to challenge the EF. Maybe then you can meet her, and then... *groan* appreciate her size."  
"Haha! I look forward to it! Feel free to go and meet her before me, then. I don't mind, as long as I know I can meet her eventually. Also, S2, could you do me a favo-"  
"No, I am not taking pictures of her for you."  
"Aww..."  
"Alright, I'm going out to meet her. S2, out."  
"Bye, S2. Please, at least consider my request."  
R then said, "S2, be careful."  
He responded, "Don't worry, R. I can handle myself." And with that, S2 turned off the monitor, and walked outside.  
He liked his choice of location for his base of operations. It was inside a large cavern, which prevented him from being easily discovered. He threw out a Poké Ball and released his Skarmory.  
"Skarmory, fly me to Rustboro City. I have something to ask of the president there." He got onto his Skarmory, which then took off. It flew out of the cavern, into the daylight, and flew off, towards Rustboro.

**Author's Note**: For the curious, what I'm going to do about Pokémon moves is that there's going to be four "primary" moves (which are going to be their main moves) and four "secondary" moves "which will be their side moves). This way, I don't have to worry so much about being limited to four moves. Also, from now on, I'm going to add the levels and moves (both primary and secondary) of May's Pokémon.  
Anyways, if you liked or disliked the story or something about it, please, feel free to review and tell me what it was you liked or disliked.


	6. Chapter 6: To Dewford!

_Alright, guys, Chapter 6. From now on, I'm going to space things out more often, so that it doesn't just look like one huge glob of text. Also, as I said in the previous chapter, I will be adding the moves and levels of May's Pokémon to the introduction paragraphs from now on, and I will also be adding miscellaneous info. Other than that, I don't really have too much to say here, so let me just give you the dialogue key and Pokémon information, and we'll get this concert on the path._  
_Moves/Levels_  
_Ralts: Level 13_  
_Gender: Female_  
_Nature: Adamant_  
_Primary Moves: Growl, Confusion, Double Team_  
_Secondary Moves: None_  
_Combusken: Level 16_  
_Gender: Male_  
_Nature: Brave_  
_Primary Moves: Scratch, Ember, Peck, Double Kick_  
_Secondary Moves: Growl, Focus Energy_  
_Dialogue Key:_  
_"Example."=Standard talking._  
_*Example.*=Thoughts/sound effect. (Note that I may sometimes state what a character is/was thinking.)_  
_-(Example)-=Telepathy. (This is going to be Ralts' way of communication.)_  
_(Example)=A shift in perspective, time, and/or location, or a side-note._

After navigating through the Rustboro Gym maze, May ran over to the Pokémon Center across the road. She ran inside and saw that the Rustboro Nurse Joy was behind the counter. May quickly recalled Combusken and handed over both of her Poké Balls. The Nurse then put the Poké Balls in the healing machine. While they healed, May began conversing with Nurse Joy.

"Nurse Joy, while I was battling Roxanne, something happened. Ralts had been using Confusion a lot, and during the battle, she fell to one knee, and apparently something really painful hit her." May shuddered at the thought of the bloodcurdling scream Ralts had given off. "Do you have any idea what had happened?"  
"From what I remember learning at the Nursing School I attended, Psychic-type Pokémon need mental stamina in order to use attacks like Confusion, and if they run out of mental stamina, they end up in pain. It's possible that Ralts had used too much of her mental stamina, which caused her to drop to one knee."  
"Well, the thing is, Ralts… shrieked. Not like a 'oh no, a mouse' kind of shriek, either. This shriek made it sound like she was in extreme pain."  
"Hmm… Well, it's possible that Ralts still has trouble controlling her powers. She is only a basic Pokémon, after all. It would make sense if she occasionally lost control."  
"I dunno… I think I'll just ask her after she's done healing. Do you mind if I use one of the back rooms?"  
"While normally I would object, no one's using any of them at the moment, so feel free to use one of them to talk with Ralts in private."  
Nurse Joy then turned around and handed May her Poké Balls back. May thanked her, and then walked into one of the back rooms. She then released Ralts onto one of the hospital beds.

"Ralts, are you alright?"  
-(Y-yeah, I'm fine…)-  
"Okay, it's good to know you're okay again. Listen, I wanted to talk about what happened during the battle with Roxanne…"  
-(Look, I'd rather just avoid the subject, if we can.)-  
"I understand your feelings, but as your trainer, I want to know what happened. Did you overstrain yourself by using your psychic powers too much?"  
-(N-no, it wasn't that. While I was preparing to use Confusion, something… entered my mind.)-  
"Wait, do you mean like a worm or something?"  
-(No, not like a physical being or anything, more like a… presence, if that makes any sense.)-  
May, though confused, nodded, and Ralts continued.  
-(Well, the presence of that… presence caused a huge jolt of pain in my head, for whatever reason. Maybe it was because I wasn't used to there being something or someone in my head, maybe it was because they were actively trying to hurt me. Whatever the reason, that searing pain was why I screamed.)-  
"I see. Well, Ralts, thank you for telling me that. If you don't mind, I'm just going to talk to Nurse Joy for a bit, alright? You can stay outside of your Poké Ball." Ralts nodded, and May walked out of the room.  
Ralts quietly reflected on what she had just said. In reality, there had not been a searing pain. There had been some pain from the presence of an outside entity inside her mind, but that was not what had caused her to shriek.  
What had caused her to shriek was that she had recognized the presence as her mother.

(In the main room of the Pokémon Center)

While Ralts was thinking about what she had said, May was busy conversing with Nurse Joy.  
"So, Nurse Joy, do you know where the next Pokémon Gym is?"  
"The next Gym is in Dewford Town, a small town on an island to the south of here. A sailor named Mr. Briney might be able to sail you there, but you'll have to find him first. He hasn't been seen in his cottage on Route 104 for a day or two."  
"Thanks for telling me that. I'll go get Ralts now." With that, May started walking back towards the back room.

(The back room)

Ralts was jolted out of her thoughts by the sound of the door opening. She looked over to see May walk into the room.  
"Okay, Ralts, we're going to have to go find Mr. Briney for us to get to the next gym. He can take us there on his ship, apparently."  
-(Alright, let's go. It's kinda boring just sitting here.)-  
May recalled Ralts and walked back to the central room. She said goodbye to the Rustboro Nurse Joy and walked out onto the road. Suddenly, the Team Aqua grunt they had encountered in Petalburg Woods ran past them, and then turned to the right. Chasing after him was the Devon employee he had been accosting earlier. However, the employee seemed to be extremely winded, and had to stop to catch his breath.  
"Huff… puff… Get back here… you thief…" He then noticed that May was close, and walked over to her. "You! You were the one who helped me back in Petalburg Woods! I'm sorry for bothering you, but I really need your help. That Team Aqua goon who you drove off earlier confronted me again on my way to the Devon Corporation's headquarters. He stole the goods I was to deliver to Mr. Stone! I need those goods back. Please, you have to help me!"  
May responded, "I'm happy to help. Where do you think he would have gone?"  
"He probably ran off to Route 116, to try to escape through Rusturf Tunnel. If he's going to go there, though, he's not going to get far. There's still some boulders blocking the path there."  
"Okay, I'll go there now. Don't worry, we'll get those goods back to you!"

May then ran off towards Route 116. The Devon employee sighed in relief. If she was going after that thief, chances are that she would be able to recover the goods for him.

(In the Devon Corporation building, top floor)

Mr. Stone furrowed his brow. He did not understand the request of the person in front of him.  
"Repeat what you just said."  
The person again put forth his request. "If a girl named May happens to visit, I want you to ask her to deliver this letter to me. Tell her I am in Dewford Town."  
"And why do you want me to do this?"  
"I want to meet her. Roxanne told me about her, and I want to see if what she said was true."  
"Well, even if you want to meet her, why not look for her on your own? Why ask me to do send her to you?"  
"It'll seem more natural than me actively seeking her out. Besides, don't you have some goods to give to Captain Stern in Slateport?"  
"I indeed do, but I don't see how this relates to the current subject."  
"Perhaps you could also ask her to deliver the goods to him. Dewford's on the way to Slateport, and she could meet me on the way."  
Mr. Stone sighed. His visitor had a decent point. Most of the Devon Corporation's employees worked in the building, and the only employee that actively worked in the field was often accosted by thugs and such. "Fine, we shall do it your way. If she comes around, I'll make sure to tell her, but I don't see how she could find her way here."  
"I have a strange feeling that she will." And with that, Mr. Stone's visitor left the room.  
When the visitor made his way outside, he released his Skarmory onto the ground.  
"Skarmory, fly me to Dewford."  
The visitor climbed onto the Skarmory's back, and they flew south, to Dewford Town.

(Route 116)

May, Combusken, and Ralts walked down the grassy path. Ralts had been surprised by Torchic's evolution, as she was in her Poké Ball when he evolved, but she quickly adjusted to his new form. They had encountered a few trainers, but they beat them relatively easily. As they approached the Rusturf Tunnel, they noticed an old man standing by the entrance of the cave. May approached him and asked, "What's wrong?" He replied, "I was walking with my darling Peeko when we were jumped by some thug. The scoundrel made off with my darling Peeko! **WROOOOOOOAR! PEEEKOOOO!**" He burst into tears, evidently saddened by his loss.  
"Well, we might be able to save her, if you wanted…"  
"You would do that for me? Thank you, thank you, thank you! Please, rescue her!" May and her two Pokémon then went into the Rusturf Tunnel.

When they entered the tunnel, the first thing they noticed was the Team Aqua goon standing looking around. They also noticed that a Wingull, a small Pokémon with long, thin wings, a large beak, two small feet, and a few tail feathers, was sitting on a rock nearby, evidently asleep. The grunt then noticed the trio and recoiled. "Grah, keelhaul it all! First I steal a useless Pokémon from some old man, then I find myself in a dead-end tunnel while trying to get away, and then you three show up! Gyar, that's it! I'm not going to put up with this any longer! Go, Poochyena!" He threw his Poké Ball and out popped Poochyena. "Ha ha, this one's stronger than the one I had before!"  
May sent out Combusken to face the grunt's Poochyena. She ordered Combusken to use Double Kick on the Poochyena. Combusken then hopped into the air and kicked the Poochyena with its right leg, then kicked it again immediately afterwards with its left leg. The Poochyena was severely injured by the first kick, and then was fainted by the second kick. The Team Aqua grunt grimaced.  
"Gyah, this isn't looking good…" He then made his move and tried to run past the three of them. He managed to get out of the tunnel, and while he was running towards Rustboro, he shouted back at them, "Hahaha! Adios, pende-" Before he could finish his taunting adieu, however, he was suddenly lifted into the air feet first, a blue aura surrounding him. Ralts calmly walked up to him while suspending him with her psychic powers. She looked into his fear-filled eyes, and spoke to him telepathically.

-(I believe you still have those Devon goods in your possession. I recommend you hand them over, unless you particularly enjoy being dropped on your head by a Pokémon that's much smaller than you.)-"The-they're back in the cave, behind the rock I left that Wingull on. P-please, don't kill me!"  
-(Don't worry, I won't kill you. You complied with my demands, and besides that, you didn't particularly harm anyone. At least, intentionally…)- Ralts thought back to the Dustox swarm.  
-(Anyways, instead of killing or harming you, we're going to have you interrogated, and possibly arrested. Be thankful we decided to do this, instead of something significantly more painful.)-  
The grunt nodded his head, or at least, as well as he could, given his current position. Ralts called back to May and Combusken about the location of the Devon Goods, and then carried the Grunt back to Rustboro.

(A few minutes later, in front of the Rustboro Police Station)

After doing some searching around (and getting quite a few odd stares from passerby), Ralts approached what appeared to be a police station. A woman wearing a police outfit then came out of the building and looked at the curious scene before her.  
"Um, do you two have business here?"  
-(I believe so. This man is a member of Team Aqua, some gang that works around Hoenn, evidently. He's accosted one of the Devon Corporation's employees twice now, and he also stole a Pokémon from a man named Mr. Briney. I believe you should question him, and possibly arrest him afterwards.)-  
"Well, I suppose I could ask him a few questions, but first you'll have to release him. I don't think he would be very easy to interrogate upside-down."  
-(As you wish.)- Ralts then righted the grunt, then released her psychic grasp on him. The officer dragged the man into the building by his arm, and Ralts followed. They went past the reception room, and into one of the back rooms. The woman then sat the man into a chair, and sat opposite him. Between them, there was a small table, covered in various papers. Ralts sat herself in a chair off to the side.

"So, you're part of Team Aqua, then?"  
"Y-yes, I'm one of its many members."  
"What's your team's goal here?"  
"W-well, I'll give you this hint: our plan, once completed, will change the world **forever!**"  
The officer grimaced, then continued her interrogation.  
"Did you accost a Devon employee, and then steal a Wingull from an old man named Mr. Briney?"  
"I accosted that sap twice, mind you! And yes, I did happen to steal a Wingull from some old guy! What, do you have a problem with it?"  
The officer looked quizzical, and then once again continued questioning.  
Ralts looked over the officer. She had a police uniform with short sleeves on, as well as small shoes and white gloves. Her hair was a light-blue color, and was grown out in the back in a spiky pattern. She also wore a peaked cap with a small gold medal on the front of it.

After a while, the police officer stood up. "I believe I have enough evidence to put you into prison. Come with me." He stood up, and she put a pair of handcuffs on him. They then walked into an even farther back room. After a few minutes, the woman walked back into the room.  
"I put that guy in a prison cell. You won't have to worry about him anymore."  
-(Thank you for questioning him. He caused quite a few problems in the past.)-  
"It was no problem. Say, don't you have a trainer?"  
-(I do, but I think she's somewhere in the city. I sorta went off without her.)-  
Just after she finished speaking, May walked into the room, followed by Combusken. She was holding the Devon goods under her right arm.  
"Ralts! Why did you run off? We had to ask around the city for where you went!"  
-(Sorry, but I didn't want to have to carry that goon around for longer than I had to. I may be getting better in using my mental stamina, but that doesn't mean I can use my powers infinitely.)-  
May conceded that this was a good point. She just then noticed the officer standing over by the doorway.  
"Oh, hi. Who are you?"  
"The name's Officer Jenny. I'm part of the Hoenn police force. We uphold the law in the Hoenn region."  
"Oh, I see. So, did you arrest that Team Aqua guy?"  
"Yep. He's behind bars now, so don't worry about him anymore. Still, I'm a bit concerned. He claimed that his team's plans were supposed to 'change the world forever.'"  
"That sounds… bad. Still, we can't do anything right now, and for all we know, he was just exaggerating."  
"True, but he sounded pretty convinced… Oh, I'm just being paranoid now. Anyways, you better return those Devon goods to its owner."  
"Oh, that's right. See ya, Jenny!" May ran off into the city, followed by her two Pokémon. Eventually, they ran into the Devon employee that had lost the goods.  
"Oh, those are the Devon goods! Thank you so much! Please, let me take you to Mr. Stone. I'm sure he'll want to meet the girl who recovered the goods I was to deliver."  
The man then started off towards the Devon Corporation building, followed by May, Combusken, and Ralts.

(Devon Corporation building, top floor)

When they came into the room, Mr. Stone was sitting in his chair, behind a desk. He looked up at them and then stood up.  
"So, you're the trainer who helped my employee here, then? He called up and told me about you."  
"Yep! The name's May."  
"I see… Well, as you likely know, I am Mr. Stone. I am the president of the Devon Corporation. I have to ask a favor of you."  
"Sure. What do you need done?"  
"Well, I have two things to ask, actually. First, I need you to deliver this letter to a man named Steven in Dewford Town." He handed over to May a closed letter. "Second, I need you to deliver those Devon goods to Captain Stern in Slateport. After you're done in Dewford, you should be able to travel to Slateport from there."  
"Alright, I got it. I'll be going, then!" She turned around and started towards the tracks.  
"Wait!" May stopped in her tracks. "Don't think I'm going to ask you to do these tasks without giving nothing in return. That's why I want you to have this!" He handed over a light-yellow phone-like object to May.  
"This is a Pokémon Navigator, or a PokéNav for short. It has a map of the Hoenn region, which you can use to check the rough locations of Dewford and Slateport. It also lets you check the contest condition of your Pokémon, which might become important if you decide to try out a contest, and has a feature known as Match Call. You can register other PokéNav users in Match Call, and you can talk to them through your PokéNav! I have to admit, I love the PokéNav."  
"Thanks for giving me this, Mr. Stone!"  
"It's the least I could do for someone who helped recover the Devon goods. Feel free to explore the rest of the building. Just don't touch anything unless a scientist wants you to. And even then, I would be careful."  
After he was done talking, May began descending the Devon Corporation building. When she was gone, Mr. Stone sat down in his chair. He thought about how his visitor had somehow known that May would meet him. Did his visitor just have extremely good guessing skills… or was there something, or someone, that was able to let him know what would happen? Mr. Stone put that question in the back of his mind, for now. He couldn't let such questions slow him down in his plans to make the world a better place. He also still had his plan to invent a hat that danced.

(Route 104, a few minutes later)

May and Combusken walked out of Petalburg Woods. Ralts had been recalled into her Poké Ball after they had exited the Devon Corporation (May said it was punishment for pulling several pranks on scientists on their way out), and they had walked all the way to the lower part of Route 104. Over near the shoreline, a small cottage stood. Near it, a dock stretched out from the shore, and a rather large boat was moored on it.  
May had returned Peeko to Mr. Briney before searching for Ralts, and he had promised that he would take them to Dewford. He had said that this was his home, so May decided to go here after they were done in the Devon Corporation building. They walked over to the house and entered through the front door. Inside, Mr. Briney was chasing Peeko around the cottage.

"Hold up, Peeko! Wait for me, my darling!"  
After futilely chasing Peeko around for a few seconds, he noticed May standing in the doorway.  
"Ah, it's you! You were the one who saved my darling Peeko! Say, I never happened to get your name. Would you mind telling me?"  
"Sure. My name's May."  
"May? Wait, are you Norman's kid?!"  
"I sure am!"  
"Aha! I knew it! Ah, I remember when Norman and I used to go around, sailing the seas… That was a long time ago. However, I digress. You want to sail to Dewford, right?"  
"Yeah, and I also need to go to Slateport City. I have a letter for someone in Dewford, and a package for Captain Stern."  
"Hmm, you must lead a quite busy life! But that's no trouble at all! Peeko, my darling, we're setting sail! Anchors aweigh!" He rushed out the door, Peeko following close behind. He jumped onto his boat and stood outside the bridge. "Let's go! All aboard!" May and Combusken hopped onto the boat, and Mr. Briney took off the mooring line. He walked into the bridge and started sailing south. He then turned to face May.  
"Well, it's going to be a long trip. It's getting to be late, lass, so you might want to get to sleep. There are a few beds below deck. Feel free to use them."  
May thanked him, and walked down a flight of stairs. There were a few medium-sized beds on the sides of the ship. She pulled out a Poké Ball and released Ralts onto the floor. "Alright, Ralts, we're on Mr. Briney's ship now."  
-(Wait, who?)-  
"Oh, right, you weren't there. That old man near the entrance of the Rusturf Tunnel was Mr. Briney. The Wingull we saw was Peeko. I returned her to him, and he agreed to sail us to Dewford. We're going there right now. Anyways, it's pretty late, so we should probably get to bed."  
May walked over to the end of the room, where there was an entrance to a restroom. "I'm going to go change. You two can go to sleep." She entered the room and closed the door. Ralts decided to use the time to talk to Combusken.  
-(May… She's really nice, isn't she?)-  
Combusken happily nodded his head in agreement.  
-(It's odd… I used to think, in the beginning, that all humans wanted to make Pokémon their slaves… But now, I believe that trainers and Pokémon can happily co-exist and work together… We've changed so much, both you and me.)-  
Combusken gave her a quizzical look upon hearing this.  
-(I know that it sounds weird, considering it's only been two days, but still, it's true. My entire viewpoint on both humans and Pokémon have changed, and you… Well, you evolved." Combusken gave her another quizzical look. Ralts sighed.  
-(You know, I feel like something bad is going to happen… Don't you?)- This time, Combusken nodded in agreement, this time solemnly.  
-(Well, nothing's happened yet, so we might as well get to sleep.)- Ralts hopped onto a bed and pulled the covers over her, and Combusken did the same. Ralts began dozing off, and soon she was deep in sleep…

(Somewhere in Hoenn)

In the middle of a field, two figures stood. One figure was a male, the other female. The female had been searching for something, and shared her findings with the male.  
"She's asleep, and on a ship moving south. It's going to the town of Dewford, as the humans call it. She'll have to come back to the mainland eventually; maybe then, we can try to convince her to come back."  
"Or, perhaps, we could take her back from that filthy human."  
"I don't think that would be particularly smart. We would likely be hunted down for such an act, and besides that, we don't know if she wants to come back. If she's happier with the human, she should stay with the human."  
"I don't care how happy she is, something catastrophic is going to happen in the future. The human and her other Pokémon can't protect her from what's going to happen. We can. If we don't take her back, she could die!"  
"But if we try to take her back forcefully, the humans will hunt us down!"  
"I don't care how many of them come, they are not taking my daughter away from me again!"  
"Please, just let her decide-"  
"She is young and foolish! She can't make decisions on her own! We have to act soon!"  
"We don't have to do this-"  
"**Silence!** I will not have my authority questioned! We are going to get her back, whether or not you agree!"  
"…. Please, just think before you do something rash." With that, the female figure walked off, away from the male figure.  
Gallade grimaced. Gardevoir did not agree with his plan, but he did not care. He was going to get his daughter back, one way or another.

**Author's Note**: As much as I hate to stop writing, I have to go somewhere for 5 days. As a result, there will be no updates on Tuesday through Sunday. I will resume writing on Monday, likely with a filler chapter, so don't worry. However, starting on the 26th, I will begin updating less often, as I have school to deal with. Unfortunate, I know, but that's how it goes. Anyways, to get back on topic with the story, I have three things I kinda want to address:

In this story, telepathy is kind of universal, as to prevent language barriers getting in the way. Lazy? Perhaps. Convenient for me? Definitely.

I realize I skipped the Brendan battle in Rustboro, but I'm planning on adding another battle with him to make up for it.

I will be expanding beyond Hoenn with these three, but not immediately after I finish this part of the fanfiction. After I'm done with this part of the fanfic (the Hoenn region, not this part specifically), I'll move on to something completely different.

And that's all I really have to say. Feel free to review and tell me how you feel about this chapter, what you liked, and what you didn't like.


	7. Chapter 7: Land ho!

_AHAHA! I AM ALIIIIVE! Thanks to sorcery (read: actual writing), I have a full-on chapter here for you guys! Aha, here we go. I apologize if the levels seem inconsistent, but I'm not very good at estimating what level the Pokémon would be, so I have to look up what levels the trainers around the area are, and go off of that. Anywhats, let's get this program on the airwaves. Or something._  
_Moves, Levels, and other traits_  
_Ralts: Level 15_  
_Type: Psychic_  
_Gender: Female_  
_Nature: Adamant_  
_Primary Moves: Growl, Confusion, Double Team_  
_Secondary Moves: None_

_Combusken: Level 17_  
_Type: Fire/Fighting_  
_Gender: Male_  
_Nature: Brave_  
_Primary Moves: Scratch, Ember, Peck, Double Kick_  
_Secondary Moves: Growl, Focus Energy_

_Dialogue Key:_  
_"Example."=Standard talking._  
_*Example.*=Thoughts/sound effect. (Note that I may sometimes state what a character is/was thinking.)_  
_-(Example)-=Telepathy. (This is going to be Ralts' way of communication.)_  
_(Example)=A shift in perspective, time, and/or location, or a side-note._

(Johto, New Bark Town; before May moved)

May walked around what was once her living room. It was barren, with no furniture or features that stood out. She sadly acknowledged that this was probably the last time she would see it.  
Suddenly, her next-door neighbor, Ethan walked into the room.  
"So," he said, "today's the day."  
"Yep," replied May. "We're moving to the Hoenn region today. Soon, I'll be training a Hoenn starter, and you'll be training a Johto starter." She smiled nervously. "You know, it's weird to think-"  
"I know, you do it so rarely." They both laughed at his joke, and then May went on.  
"It's weird to think that soon, we'll be in completely different regions."  
"Heh, yeah."  
May looked over at Ethan. He had his signature black and gold cap on over his dark hair. He also had his usual outfit on, which consisted of a red shirt and black shorts. He was generally a quiet boy of few words, but he was also very smart, and he could be very brave when he needed to be.

"Oh, I think your mom's calling for you." May ran outside to see her mom standing beside the moving truck.  
"May, we're leaving! I'm afraid we'll have to ride in the back." May sighed. "Wonderful." She turned to face Ethan, who had followed her outside.  
"Well, this is goodbye."  
"Take care, May."  
She turned and started towards the truck, but Ethan grabbed her shoulder.  
"Wait. Take this, so you can remember me."  
He held out a red bandana with a white Poké Ball symbol on it.  
"But Ethan, isn't this-"  
"My old bandana? Yeah, it is. Nowadays, though, prefer this cap." He gestured towards his black and gold cap. "You can have my bandana."  
May took the bandana from Ethan and held put it in her pocket.  
"May!" They heard May's mother call out from the back of the truck. "Hurry up!"  
"It sounds like you should get going. Safe travels."  
May hesitated. "Ethan…" May blushed.  
Suddenly, she moved forward and gave Ethan a light kiss on the cheek. Before he could properly respond, she ran up to the truck and jumped into the back. The driver went to close it, and May waved goodbye to Ethan. He weakly waved back, still shocked by what had happened. And then the door was closed. Soon, the truck was moving.

The truck was full of their belongings, such as several mirrors, their two couches, and even their bed. Her mother was sitting on the bed, reading a book.  
May walked over to one of her family's mirrors and took out the bandana. Her mother looked up from her book and noticed May holding the bandana.  
"Did Ethan give you that?"  
"Yeah. He said it was so I could remember him."  
"Why don't you try it on, then? It's not like you have much else to do."  
May turned to face the mirror and began wrapping the bandana around her head. Soon, it was completely wrapped around the top of her head.  
"It looks nice on you. It goes great with your red shirt."  
"Thanks, mom." She unwrapped the bandana and stuffed it into her pocket again. Suddenly, she yawned rather loudly."  
"I think I'm gonna go to sleep."  
"Good idea. I'm used to sleeping on the couch, so you can have the bed." Her mother walked over to their couch and sat on it.  
"Thanks, mom." May walked over and lay down on the bed. Soon, she was fast asleep.

(Later)

May woke up from her sleep, and soon noticed that the truck was swaying. Her mother was sitting on the couch.  
"May, go back to sleep. We're on a boat to Hoenn now, but it'll still be a while until we arrive."  
"Alright, mom…" May lay back down, and soon she was back to sleep.

(Mr. Briney's ship; present day)  
May's eyes opened slowly. At first, she thought she was still in the moving truck, but then remembered that they had been sailing for Dewford. She got out of her bed…  
And suddenly nearly slid on the tilted floor. "W-whoa!"  
She grabbed onto the bed and looked at her surroundings.  
The ship was unbalanced, with the bow tilted higher than the stern. The floor was similarly uneven, but it was level enough that May, after a bit of adjusting to the new angle, was able to walk down to the bow and up the stairs. As she walked onto the deck, it became apparent that the ship had run aground on a rock formation. Ralts, Combusken, Mr. Briney, and Peeko were sitting on several crates and barrels nearby.

-(May, are you alright?)- Ralts' "voice" had a tone of concern.  
"Yeah, I'm fine. What happened to the ship?"  
Mr. Briney began speaking. "Some blasted whirlpools threw the ship off course. I tried me best to get her back on track, but ended up runnin' her aground."  
"Did anyone get hurt?"  
"Unless ye count the ship, no, but even then, she's only a bit scratched. Still, unless ye can somehow swim all the way to Dewford, we'll have to wait until some kind soul helps us."  
May looked at the surroundings. The rock formation has a V-shaped canyon, which the ship was stuck in. The canyon was tilted slightly upwards, giving it an appearance somewhat resembling a chute.  
This gave May an idea. "Combusken, I have a plan. Get to the front of the boat and try pushing it back into the water!" Combusken jumped out in front of the boat and began pushing on it, but he wasn't even able to budge it. May sighed. "Well, you tried your best, Combusken. What are we gonna do…"

Suddenly, she noticed a commotion in the water. She moved to the edge of the boat to get a better look at the scene, and saw that a white fish-like Pokémon with orange markings and a white horn was chasing after a Pokémon with a tall, helmet-like body, two gray tentacles protruding out from the bottom of its body, two large red orbs on the sides of its head, and another, smaller gem in the middle of its head. Below the smaller gem, two small eyes sprouted out of its head. It appeared to be holding something with its two tentacles.  
May acted quickly. "Ralts, use Confusion on the fish Pokémon!"  
Said Pokémon was lifted into the air and roughly tossed backwards. It then hastily swam down into the ocean depths. The other Pokémon swam up to the boat. It appeared to be grateful for being rescued. May walked over to where it was and scanned it with her Pokédex.  
It gave the Pokémon's name, Tentacool, as well as its height and weight, but no specific information. May was confused by this, but decided to ponder over it later.  
"So, you're Tentacool, then. Why was that other Pokémon chasing you around?"  
The Pokémon responded by showing her the object it was holding in its tentacles, a ball of clumped-up seaweed. It was now evident that the Tentacool had stolen food from the other Pokémon, which made the other Pokémon chase it around. The Tentacool then proceeded to eagerly eat the seaweed ball.  
Despite having eaten the ball of seaweed, it still appeared to be hungry. May looked around for some food for it. By chance, she noticed that Ralts had opened up a barrel full of apples and was in the process of eating one. May grabbed one of the apples out of the barrel and tossed it to the Tentacool, which ate it eagerly. After finishing the apple, the Tentacool looked far happier, even though it still seemed a bit hungry. May sat back and smiled for a second, but then frowned as she thought about their situation.

"How are we gonna get the boat out of this rock formation?" she thought aloud. She then noticed the Tentacool diving down into the ocean. Just as she began wondering where it had gone, a mass of grey tentacles shot out of the water, grabbed the back of the boat, and began pulling it. May quickly positioned herself between the tentacles and her Pokémon, in case the tentacles meant to attack them. Mr. Briney grabbed onto the railing of the ship, Peeko resting on his arm. Combusken followed Mr. Briney's example and held onto the ship's railing. Ralts ran up behind May and held onto her leg. She didn't want to be taken into the sea, but she didn't want her trainer being taken into the sea, either.  
As soon as the ship was back in the water, however, the tentacles receded, and Tentacool came up to the surface, followed by another Pokémon. It looked like a much larger version of Tentacool, with a much wider "helmet" and larger red orbs. It also two blue stingers protruding from under the "helmet" (one in the front and one in the back), as well as a very large amount of tentacle stretching downwards.  
May, seeing there was no danger, pulled out her Pokédex. It gave her its name, Tentacruel, as well as its weight and height, but like before, it gave no specific information. Again, May began to think about this, but decided to think about it more later.  
Mr. Briney had already started the ship up again.  
"Thanks, you two! Now, we can continue towards Dewford Town! Let us set sail!"

Combusken and Ralts had both walked back over to where they were before, and Ralts began eating another apple. May leaned out over the side of the boat and waved to Tentacool and Tentacruel.  
"Thanks for the help! Don't worry, we won't forget about you!"  
She then started back towards the stairs, but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Tentacool appeared to be conversing with Tentacruel. After a few seconds, Tentacruel nodded, and then dove back into the sea. Tentacool then turned around and began vigorously swimming towards the ship. It soon caught up with the ship, much to May's surprise, and then, with startling agility, jumped onto the deck of the ship.  
"Tentacool."  
Ralts and Combusken then noticed the Tentacool casually lying on the ship's deck. Both had shocked expressions on their faces, and Ralts asked, -(Wait, did that Pokémon just-)-  
"Catch up to a moving boat, and then leap onto the deck? Yeah, it just did." May had a similarly bewildered expression on her face.  
"Tenta-Tentacool."  
-(Wait, it's saying something. Do you want me to translate?)-  
"Wait, do you mean you can let me know what Pokémon are saying?!"  
Ralts sarcastically replied, -(No, I'm saying that I can cause people to live forever.)-  
"Well, I just didn't know that you could translate. Anyways, could you please tell me what it's saying?"  
Tentacool then began speaking quite a bit (though of course all May could hear was "Tentacool" said in various forms), and after it was done, Ralts translated it to May.  
-(He wants to join your team and travel with you. His family has trouble feeding themselves, and without him there, they'll have one less mouth to feed. Besides that, he wants to repay you for rescuing and then feeding him.)-  
"In that case, welcome to the team, Tentacool. Now, I'll have to 'capture' you, but it's mostly just to make sure other trainers can't catch you." Tentacool nodded, and May took him into one of her Poké Balls. He didn't even struggle, and after a second or two, the ball clicked. May then released Tentacool onto the deck. "Hehe, that was quick. Well, you're officially part of the team, Tentacool. Welcome aboard."

As soon as she stopped talking, Tentacool dashed over to the apple barrel and started stuffing himself. He managed to eat around 10 apples in under two minutes before finally stopping, apparently full.  
"He has quite the appetite, doesn't he?"  
-(At least he didn't try to steal the one I'm eating.)-  
May took this opportunity to try scanning Tentacool with her Pokédex. This time, it gave a full entry.  
"Tentacool, the Jellyfish Pokémon. Tentacool's body is almost entirely composed of water. It ensnares its foe with its two long tentacles, then stabs with the poison stingers at their tips."  
It also listed its various traits:

Tentacool: Level 17  
Type: Water/Poison  
Gender: Male  
Nature: Relaxed  
Primary Moves: Poison Sting, Supersonic, Constrict  
Secondary Moves: None

"Hmm… I guess that the Pokédex can only give full readings on the Pokémon I actually catch. I wonder why…"  
Suddenly, Mr. Briney called out, "We've arrived in Dewford! Once you're done here, we'll go on to Slateport!" May, Ralts, Combusken, and Tentacool walked (or in Tentacool's case, crawled) over to the side of the ship, and looked at the town before them.  
Dewford Town was a small village that had been built on an island. The town had been built near a chain of rocky hills, which partially surrounded it. It also was built near the shore of the island, which allowed for easy access to it from the sea. There were actually quite a few houses, but they were relatively small, and the only buildings that stuck out were the Pokémon Center and the Gym. The Gym was actually built into the rocky hills, and it was covered in rock. This gave it the appearance of a rocky citadel of sorts.  
After taking in the sights, the four of them started walking towards the Dewford Pokémon Center.

(In the Dewford Pokémon Center)

As in Rustboro, the first thing May did after entering the Pokémon Center was look for the town's Nurse Joy. This time, Nurse Joy was in plain sight, apparently writing a letter, but she looked very different compared to the other Nurse Joys. She appeared to be significantly younger than the others, and had a vastly different hairstyle. Rather than the usual puffy-hair of the Nurse Joys, she had very smooth hair. She also wore far less puffy-looking clothes than normal. May also noticed that there appeared to be a shop in the Pokémon Center. The Dewford Nurse Joy looked up and noticed that May was there, and then called out to her.  
"Oh, hello! I assume you want your Pokémon healed up?"  
May nodded, recalled her Pokémon, and handed their Poké Balls to Nurse Joy. Nurse Joy put them in the healing machine, and while they waited for the healing process to be completed, May began talking to her.

"This Pokémon Center's different from the other ones I've seen. Why's that?"  
Nurse Joy replied, "It's because of the region I'm from. I'm from a distant region known as Unova, and that's where I was trained to be a nurse. In Unova, we dress differently, and there are no Poké Marts. Instead, we have shops in the Pokémon Centers. I was supposed to work in Unova, but at the last second, I got replaced with a nurse from Aspertia City, and I ended up getting transferred here. I don't mind, though. The nurse I was replaced with was a very kind woman, and besides that, I was able to bring my partner here."  
As if on cue, a Pokémon somewhat resembling a blue-skinned Black Belt wearing a nurse's cap walked into the lobby. "Sawk?"  
"You're done? Great! Feel free to take a break, Sawk." The Pokémon nodded and then walked into the room.  
"That was Sawk, my partner. We've been through a lot together. Anyways, I put a shop in here because it would make it feel more like home to me. It's also convenient for the workers, as the old Poké Mart was in really bad condition when I got here. I just asked the workers to work in here, and now they do just that." Just then, the healing machine chimed, and Nurse Joy gave May her Poké Balls back.  
"Thanks. Say, you don't happen to have any rooms for us, do you?"  
"In fact, all Pokémon Centers have rooms for travelling trainers. I happen to have an open one right now. Take this keycard." May picked up said keycard. It had a Poké Ball on it, as well as the number 39.  
"Now simply go upstairs and look for the door at the end of the hall, on the right side. Normally you'd look for the door with the number that matches your keycard, but as that room's the only one not taken at the moment, you don't have to search for it. Insert the keycard into the slot, and you can enter the room. Feel free to use any items, eat any food, or drink any beverages in the room."  
May thanked her, and then walked up the stairs. She followed Nurse Joy's instructions, and soon, she came upon Room 39. She put the keycard into the slot, and the door unlocked. May walked into the room and looked around.

The room was remarkably spacious, considering that it was one of ten of these rooms on the floor. A large bed sat at one end of the room, with six smaller beds to the left of it. To the right of the large bed, there was a door leading into a bathroom. A small pseudo-kitchen was in the corner of the room, and a few windows lined one of the walls. May let out her three Pokémon, who quickly made themselves comfortable. Tentacool began raiding the kitchen's fridge, Combusken went to sleep, and Ralts started bouncing on the large bed.  
-(Haha! This is so much fun! Wheee!)- After a minute or two, Ralts finally calmed down a bit. May took this opportunity to talk with her. She sat down on the bed beside Ralts and began a conversation.  
"So, Ralts, can you tell me about you family?"  
-(I guess so. Hmm, where should I start...)- She took a moment to think over what she was going to say.

-(Okay, here we go. Father, a Gallade, was always the leader, the one who decided where the family went. He hated humans with a burning passion, and often had to fight them off. Mother, a Gardevoir, was usually quieter and level-headed, but sometimes she could get rather emotional.)- Ralts grimaced for a second, before going on.  
-(She was just scared of humans, and preferred to avoid them. I also had two siblings, both Kirlia. One of them, a male, was always trying to be like Father, right down to his hatred of humans. He occasionally helped drive them off. He also was strangely good at setting things on fire. The other one, a female, was very different from the rest of us. Instead of green hair, green legs, red eyes, and red horns, she had blue hair, blue legs, orange eyes, and orange horns. She also was the most different personality-wise. Rather than hating or even fearing humans, she was willing to converse and play with them, whenever they approached. Father always drove them off, though, and he always shunned her, which meant Mother had to teach her how to use her powers and such. She was always fond of the water, and could manipulate it with ease. I also had another sibling, a Ralts, but she was taken from us by a psychic woman. We tried to stop her, but she caught the Ralts, and then teleported away. That incident was the main reason most of us hated or feared humans. I remember Father saying that she was particularly fond of leaves and grass, and could somehow form small twisters of leaves. For some reason, my siblings and I had special abilities that, apparently, most Ralts and Kirlia don't have. Anyways, that's my family, or at least, was my family.)-

"That's very interesting, Ralts. Thanks for telling me. I have a question, though."  
-(Ask away.)-  
"You said that all of you had special abilities, but you didn't tell me yours. What's your special ability?"  
A mischievous grin grew across Ralts' face. -(Are you sure you want to know?)-  
"As long as it doesn't involve too much physical pain, yes."  
-(If you say so…)- Ralts stood up and walked over to May, while May watched Ralts cautiously. Suddenly, Ralts lifted May effortlessly with her arms.  
"W-WOAH!" May's surprise was obvious. After a few seconds, Ralts then put May back down on the bed.  
"R-Ralts… What was that?"  
-(Oh, I never told you, did I? I'm super strong, even though you couldn't tell from my size. I was always the one who carried stuff around when we had to migrate.)-  
May had a shocked look on her face. Ralts laughed a bit.  
-(Hehe, caught you off guard, didn't I? Father didn't know that I was so strong, either, until one day, I happened to lift him into the air and juggle him a bit. Mother made me put him down, though.)-  
"R-Ralts, this is really… amazing! I mean, you're so small, but so strong! It's so…"  
-(Extraordinary? Yeah, I know. Problem is, I don't have the most physical energy, so I sorta need to rest after using my strength.)- Ralts then yawned rather loudly. -(I think I'm just gonna go to sleep…)-  
She then just fell asleep on the large bed. May smiled, then picked up Ralts. She carried Ralts over to one of the smaller beds and laid her there. May then sat on the bed, contemplating what had happened. The revelation had been so sudden, it almost felt like it was just a sudden dream. She decided to talk to Ralts about it tomorrow, to see if was real. For now, she had to get to sleep. She walked into the bathroom and began changing into her pajamas.

(Inside the Pokémon Center's lobby)

Nurse Joy was writing a letter to her friend in Aspertia City. Her friend was a retired Nurse Joy, the one who had taken her place in Unova. They were very good friends, and constantly wrote to each other. Her friend had always talked about her two children and how they got along so well. Nurse Joy decided to visit them in a few years. It had been so long since they had last met.  
Suddenly, Nurse Joy heard some commotion outside. She ran out of the Pokémon Center's doors and looked around, but only saw some Corphish running off. She decided to keep writing for now, but she knew she would have to keep her guard up in the future.

(Off the shore of Dewford Island)

A large submarine disguised as a Magikarp floated under the water off the shore of Dewford. Inside the submarine, three figures, one masculine, one feminine, and one like a small cat, began talking.  
The feminine figure berated the masculine figure. "Be more careful! Your periscope extending woke up some Corphish! If Nurse Joy had been more alert, she could have caught us!"  
The masculine figure was annoyed by his partner's complaints. "Stop nagging me! I contracted it as soon as I saw her leave the Pokémon Center! Alright, up goes the periscope… Ah, there we go!"  
Through the periscope, he had a clear view of the Pokémon trainer and her Ralts.  
"The reports and rumors were right, all right. That Ralts is super-strong, it seems. She'll be a wonderful addition to the Boss's collection."  
"I agree. If we snatch that Ralts, the Boss may actually give us a promotion for once."  
"Don't worry about that, my dear. I'm already cooking up a plan to snatch that Ralts! Hehehe…"  
"Just make sure it's not like the plan you made that one time, in Porta Vista…"  
"Hey, that beach plan was going beautifully before that little scamp had to interfere!" He pointed at the third member of their group.  
The small, cat-like figure piped in. "Look, I thought it was a good idea at the time! Besides, once we snatch dat Ralts, no-one'll remember dat little incident! Not even da Boss!"  
The three of them began laughing, all together. The Boss was going to get that Ralts, and they were going to get the respect they deserved.

**Author's Note**: Okay, you may or may not have noticed some odd things about the last few parts. Regardless of whether or not you did notice them, I'll explain this here:

Some things in this story will not be consistent with the Pokédex entries. For example, Tentacool will not shrivel up when not in the water. I prefer to have the story go the way I want it to, without having to deal with the lore and such. I apologize if you prefer going by Pokédex entries, but that's not the way I roll.

Yes, I forgot to have May go back and talk to Clyde. I will rectify this in either the next chapter or the chapter after that, depending on how I want to go with this.

Also, I know that I never officially introduced the Poké Mart. In the story, though, May's already visited the one in Oldale Town, so she already knows about them. I probably should have said this earlier, but it can't really be helped.

Finally, yes, I am going to expand beyond the May-Ralts story in the Pokémon universe. I've already got plans to use other trainers (which shall not be named) for stories based in other regions. They'll be in the same "timeline", and you can expect May to pop in here and there. However, after finishing this part of the storyline, I will not be continuing it immediately. The fanfiction I will be making after this one will contain 96.5% more wub wub. That's all I'll say for now.


	8. Chapter 8: Rockin' Rockets

_Ah, chapter 8. Let's do this. And try to think of another way to say "Let's get this show on the road", while we're at it._  
_Moves, Levels, and other traits_  
_Ralts: Level 15_  
_Type: Psychic_  
_Gender: Female_  
_Nature: Adamant_  
_Primary Moves: Growl, Confusion, Double Team_  
_Secondary Moves: None_

_Combusken: Level 17_  
_Type: Fire/Fighting_  
_Gender: Male_  
_Nature: Brave_  
_Primary Moves: Scratch, Ember, Peck, Double Kick_  
_Secondary Moves: Growl, Focus Energy_

_Tentacool: Level 17_  
_Type: Water/Poison_  
_Gender: Male_  
_Nature: Relaxed_  
_Primary Moves: Poison Sting, Supersonic, Constrict_  
_Secondary Moves: None_

_Dialogue Key:_  
_"Example." = Standard talking._  
_*Example.* = Thoughts/sound effect. (Note that I may sometimes state what a character is/was thinking, or may make sound effects part of their standard dialogue.)_  
_-(Example)- = Telepathy. (This is going to be Ralts' way of communication.)_  
_(Example) = A shift in perspective, time, and/or location, or a side-note._

(Dewford Pokémon Center, around midnight)

May slowly opened her eyes up. She rolled over onto her side and looked over at her Pokémon. She noticed that something was strange: two people were in their room, to the right of her bed. One had long, curling hair, and the other had short, straight hair.

She shot up out of bed. "What do you think you're doing in here?!" The figures didn't respond; instead, the male figure grabbed something out of one of the beds and ran out of the room, through a door that was mysteriously opened. Combusken was awakened by the commotion, and ran off after them. Tentacool, on the other hand, was fast asleep. May then realized what they had done: they had stolen Ralts.  
"Tentacool, get up!" Tentacool opened his eyes drowsily. "Come on, we have to go! Some weird people stole Ralts and ran off with her!" Upon hearing this, Tentacool immediately got up out of bed. May then ran out of the room, through the hallway, and down the stairs, Tentacool close behind. When she arrived in the lobby, she saw Wally attempting to free a bound and gagged Nurse Joy, who was sitting in the corner of the room.

"Wally! What are you doing here?"  
"Oh, hello, May… I… ugh… just got here… and… hnng… I saw some… grr… people running into of the Pokémon Center, and decided to investigate, and… there we go!" He finally managed to unbind Nurse Joy, and helped her up. "And when I came in, I saw that Nurse Joy here was tied up. I tried to untie her, but it took longer than I expected. I saw the two people, one male and the other female, running out of the Pokémon Center, followed by a Pokémon."  
"The Pokémon you saw was the evolved form of my Torchic, Combusken. Anyways, are you alright?"  
"Yeah, they ignored me entirely. I don't know about Nurse Joy, though…"  
"I'm… *cough*… fine… but I think they stole May's Ralts…"  
"Don't worry, Nurse Joy." Wally sounded very reassuring, despite his quiet voice. "We'll get May's Pokémon back, no matter what. Come on, May!" He then ran outside, with May and Tentacool following close behind.  
The two figures, as well as Combusken, were running towards the shore. Suddenly, what appeared to be a large Magikarp rose from out of the ocean, and the two figures jumped on top of it. Just then, May, Tentacool, and Wally caught up to Combusken, who was still on the shore. The two figures turned to face their pursuers, and the male one, the one holding Ralts, delivered a parting speech.

"Well, it was a fun little game we had, but I'm afraid we must bid you twerps adieu." His voice had a surprisingly sophisticated tone to it, given that he was a thief. The female figure then gave her own speech to the four of them.  
"I'm afraid this Ralts is now part of our property, girl. Don't worry, though. Your Pokémon will be a lovely addition to the Boss's collection! Ahahahaha!" The woman had a slightly less sophisticated voice, and she spoke with a strange sort of spunk.

Suddenly, however, an electric bolt hit the side of the "Magikarp", prompting the two thieves to leap onto the shore. A hatch opened on the "Magikarp" soon afterwards, and a small, cat-like Pokémon crawled out and jumped beside the thieves. A speedboat soon came into view, with a small, eel-like Pokémon near the bow, and a strangely dressed Officer Jenny steering the vessel. A spotlight on the boat shone on the thieves, completely revealing what their appearances. The man had light purple hair, with a white uniform bearing a red R insignia on it. The female had a similar (if more revealing) uniform, also with a red R on it. Her long, curved hair was a shade of scarlet red. Finally, their third member, the cat-like Pokémon, had cream-colored fur, brown feet, a brown tail tip, four long whiskers protruding from the sides of its face, and most uniquely, what appeared to be a gold coin on its forehead.  
Officer Jenny pulled out a megaphone, and began shouting at the criminals.

"Who are you, and what do you think you're doing?"

The two thieves seemed amused by this. "Ohoho,' the woman responded, "Straight to the point, eh, Officer? Well, if you insist, we can introduce ourselves! Prepare for trouble!"  
The man continued, "Make it double!"  
"To protect the world from devastation!"  
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"  
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"  
"Jessie!"  
"James!"  
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"  
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"  
The cat-like Pokémon then chimed in, "Meowth, that's right!"

Officer Joy seemed a bit baffled. "Team Rocket? Wait, are you three former members of that Kanto gang? The one that was disbanded three years ago?"  
The male thief, James, seemed indignant.

"Disbanded?! Perhaps the less-loyal members of Team Rocket abandoned our Boss three years ago, but we haven't! And don't think that Team Rocket's done for! Right now, our forces are building up in Johto, ready for more-"  
His partner, Jessie, slapped the back of his head.

"You idiot! Don't tell them our plans! Gah… First we get chased here, then our submarine gets blasted, and now you spill the beans… I've had enough! Dustox, destroy these twerps!"  
She sent out a Dustox, who went to face Wally, May, Combusken, and Tentacool.

"Ow, you didn't have to hit me… But you're right, this operation has gone pear-shaped! If we're gonna get out of here with our prize, we need to act fast! Cacnea, take that Officer out!"  
He then released a small, round, cactus-like Pokémon. It had stubby, club-like arms, and its entire body was covered in spikes. On top of its head, there was what appeared to be a crown. It turned to face the speedboat.

May grimaced a bit at the sight of the Dustox, but stood her ground. "Combusken, use Ember on that Dustox!" Combusken fired a flurry of fireballs at the Dustox, but it dodged most of them. It still was a bit damaged by the ones that it couldn't dodge, however.  
"May, don't think you're fighting them alone! Wurmple, go and help Combusken!" Wally released his Wurmple, which sparkled as it exited its Poké Ball. This occurrence piqued Jessie's interest.

"Ohoho, that's a unique Wurmple you have there! We're more than happy to take it off of your hands! Dustox, snatch that Wurmple!"  
The Dustox then swooped down towards Wurmple. Wurmple tried to dodge the Dustox, but still ended up getting caught. The Dustox then flew back over to Jessie's side and dropped the Wurmple in Jessie's arms.  
Wally cried out, "Wurmple! No!"  
"Don't worry, Wally! Combusken, use Ember on the Dustox again!"  
This time, the Dustox was hit by the full brunt of the fireball swarm, and it fell to the ground, fainted.  
Jessie recalled Dustox, and then called over to James.

"James, I don't suppose you have an escape plan? We have two rare Pokémon on our hands, but it doesn't look like we'll be able to get them back to the Boss!"

James' fight with Officer Jenny wasn't going any better, with his Cacnea nearly defeated from the eel's repeated Acid attacks. However, it had been able to damage the boat a good deal.  
"In fact, I do! Follow me!" He recalled Cacnea, and ran further down the shore. Jessie and Meowth ran after him, and May, Wally, and Officer Jenny tried to catch up to them. However, the Team Rocket members were too fast, and soon, they lost sight of them.

Suddenly, a hot-air balloon rose from out of nowhere. The main body of the balloon resembled a huge Meowth head, with a small arm on the side. Below it, a green basket was attached to it by several flimsy cords. The three Team Rocket members stood in the basket.  
Jessie gave Wurmple to Meowth, and then turned to face their previous pursuers.  
"Well, adios, twerpos! We're off to Kanto, to give these Pokémon to our Boss! Thank you for providing these Pokémon to us! Ahahahaha!"

Just then, Ralts began to speak telepathically.  
-(Huh? W-wait, what's going on here?! May, where are you?!)-  
James flinched. "Quiet, brat! You're Team Rocket's property now!"  
-(What?! No I'm not! Let me go!)-  
"Yes you are! Now stop whining!"  
-(How'd I get up here?! May, help me already!)-  
May, hearing that Ralts was talking, called out to her.  
"Ralts! I'm down here! I have a plan, but I think it might hurt you some!"  
-(JUST GET ME OFF THIS BALLOON!)-  
"Alright, then! Combusken, use Ember on the balloon! Tentacool, attack it with Poison Sting!"  
Combusken fired off another torrent of fireballs, and Tentacool fired off a barrage of poison darts. Both flurries were aimed at the large Meowth balloon.

Jessie shrieked. "Meowth, get us out of here! Those attacks are headed straight for us!"  
"I'm trying my best, but dis Wurmple keeps on strugglin'! It's makin' it hard to steer this thing!"  
James cried out, "They're about to hit the balloon!"  
-(Wait, May! I didn't know you were going to do this!)-

The fireballs and stingers then punctured the side of the balloon. It began to deflate and fly around erratically. Soon, it started flying towards the shoreline.

"MEOWTH! I TOLD YOU TO STEER IT AWAY FROM THE ATTACKS!"  
"I CAN'T WORK WHILE I'M HOLDING A STRUGGLING WURMPLE IN MY ARMS!"  
"OUR PLANS! ALL RUINED! CRUSHED! DESTROYED!"  
-(MAY! HEELP MEE! AAAAAAAH!)-

The balloon soon hit the shoreline, fully deflated. The envelope covered the basket, as well as the balloon's passengers. They soon began struggling under the heavy envelope.  
Officer Jenny then jumped off of her speedboat and ran over to the wreckage.  
"Team Rocket, you're under arrest! Get out from under there!"  
Jessie's voice came out from under the envelope.  
"Fat chance, Officer Moron! James, Meowth, get the Pokémon and scram!"  
"It's hard to see under this stupid thing… Aha! Jessie! Meowth! I found the Ralts!"  
"Good work, James! Get her, now!"  
-(GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU FREAKS!)-  
Three figures under the deflated balloon then began rushing towards a fourth figure. Suddenly, a tumultuous scuffle started under the canvas. After a few seconds, Ralts came crawling out from under the balloon, followed by Wally's Wurmple. May then ran up to pick up Ralts, and Wally did the same with his Wurmple.  
"Ralts, thank goodness you're alright! I should have been more careful…"  
-(It's fine, I didn't expect them to capture me either. That said, I don't want to deal with any more balloons any time soon…)-  
"You don't have to, Ralts, don't worry…"  
Suddenly, May decided to hug Ralts tightly to her chest.  
-(**I NEVER GAVE YOU PERMISSION TO DO THIS! STOP!**)-  
Despite her struggling, Ralts was unable to break out of May's hug. After a few seconds, though, May broke off her embrace.  
"Sorry, but I was just so worried…"  
-(Just… don't do that… again…)-  
May laughed a little. "Come on, Ralts. Let's go back to the Pokémon Center."  
She then began walking towards the Dewford Pokémon Center, with Ralts in her arms and Combusken and Tentacool following her.  
Back at the wreckage, Officer Jenny shifted the envelope off of Team Rocket. She found them all severely beaten up and bruised. She picked up Meowth in one arm and grabbed Jessie by her hair. She directed her eel Pokémon to drag James, and then started off towards the Dewford Police Station. While she was walking, she overheard the Team Rocket members talking.  
"Looks like our plan didn't go so well, James…"  
"I didn't expect so many complications there…"  
"Well, you know da drill, guys…"  
"Team Rocket's blasting off again…"

**Author's Note**: Short chapter this time, but I plan on having the Dewford Gym battle in the next chapter. So, stay tuned! Or don't. Anyways, feel free to review if there's anything you liked or didn't like about the chapter.


	9. Chapter 9: Dewford Gym

_It's time for the Dewford Gym. Also, I'm going to be adding levels for combat in general from now on, rather than just from defeating enemies. This way, I'll be able to speed things up a little, as well as make May's Pokémon more appropriately leveled for the Gyms and such. Or maybe the system will fall flat on its face and I'll repeal it. We'll see. Also, at the time of posting this, I'll have modified some of the previous chapters for easier reading. The huge blocks of text make me sad. Anyways, let's rock this Kasbah._  
_Moves, Levels, and other traits_  
_Ralts: Level 17_  
_Type: Psychic_  
_Gender: Female_  
_Nature: Adamant_  
_Ability: Synchronize_  
_Primary Moves: Growl, Confusion, Double Team, Teleport_  
_Secondary Moves: None_

_Combusken: Level 18_  
_Type: Fire/Fighting_  
_Gender: Male_  
_Nature: Brave_  
_Ability: Blaze_  
_Primary Moves: Scratch, Ember, Peck, Double Kick_  
_Secondary Moves: Growl, Focus Energy_

_Tentacool: Level 18_  
_Type: Water/Poison_  
_Gender: Male_  
_Nature: Relaxed_  
_Ability: Clear Body_  
_Primary Moves: Poison Sting, Supersonic, Constrict_  
_Secondary Moves: None_

_Dialogue Key:_  
_"Example." = Standard talking._  
_*Example.* = Thoughts/sound effect. (Note that I may sometimes state what a character is/was_  
_thinking, or may make sound effects part of their standard dialogue.)_  
_-(Example)- = Telepathy. (This is going to be Ralts' way of communication.)_  
_(Example) = A shift in perspective, time, and/or location, or a side-note._

(Dewford Police Station)

As it turned out, the Dewford Police Station was built into the rocky hills that made up Dewford's eastern border. After dragging Jessie, James, and Meowth into station and locking them up in one of the cells, Officer Jenny walked into the lobby of the building and phoned the Goldenrod City Police Station, in Johto. After a few seconds, another Officer picked up.

"Officer H-5, is that you?"  
Officer Jenny sighed, and then responded, "Yes, it's Officer H-5. And why do we have to use this weird code, anyways? It's unnecessary."  
"Convenience, Officer H-5. It's hard enough to remember the names of the other Officers in the region you're stationed in, let alone the names of Officers in other regions. It's far easier to use codenames for inter-region communication."  
"Fair enough. Regardless, I didn't call you to discuss the impracticalities of codenames. The reason I contacted you was because something happened today."  
"What do you mean, something happened?"  
"A group of thieves tried to steal some trainers' Pokémon today. They were able to recover their Pokémon, but that's not what I'm worried about. It's what the thieves said that concerned me."  
"What did they say?"  
"They claimed to be part of Team Rocket, the gang from Kanto. They also claimed that the gang had come back together and was beginning to build up its forces in Johto."  
"Hmm… What did they look like?"  
"One of them was a man, with short, purple hair. Another was a woman, with long, curving, scarlet hair. The third major member of their group was… odd. It was a Meowth, but it was capable of speaking English, somehow."  
"I see… Well, thank you for informing me of this incident. I'll phone Saffron City's Police Station and see what the Officer there has to say. J-5, signing off." And with that, the Goldenrod Officer Jenny hung up.

The Dewford Officer Jenny grimaced. First Team Magma and Team Aqua, and now Team Rocket. Why were so many criminal organizations active lately? There were also reports of villainous thugs in Sinnoh and Unova… Things did not bode well for the future.

(Dewford Pokémon Center, May's room)

After healing her Pokémon, May had walked up the stairs back into her room. She also let Wally and his Wurmple into her room for a little bit. Their Pokémon had gradually begun to relax more, with Tentacool raiding the fridge (again) and Combusken and Wurmple resting. Ralts had gone into the bathroom, saying that she needed to wash herself. Wally was also sitting on the large bed, beside May.

"So, Wally, what are you doing here?"  
"Well, my parents planned on sending me to Verdanturf Town through the Rusturf Tunnels, but the Rusturf Tunnels are still incomplete, and I haven't beat Norman yet, so I can't Surf across Route 103. As a result, I have to sail to Slateport, go north to Mauville, and then travel east to Verdanturf. One of my dad's friends sailed me here a few days ago, but his boat started malfunctioning when we got here. I've been waiting for him to finish repairs for a little less than two days, now."  
"How long are the repairs supposed to take?"  
"Well, my father's friend said that they could take two or three days from now."  
"Say, we sailed here with Mr. Briney. If you want, you could come along with us to Slateport."  
"R-really?! But May, would that mean you would be going out of your way for me?"  
"I actually have to go deliver a package to someone in Slateport, so it wouldn't be going out of my way at all. Don't worry, Wally."  
"T-thank you, May! I'll have to ask my father's friend for permission to go on to Slateport later. Well, *yaaawn* I better get to my room and go to sleep. G'night, May."  
"Goodnight, Wally."

Wally called to Wurmple, who sluggishly got up and crawled over to Wally. He picked up his Wurmple and walked out into the hall, closing the door on his way out. May yawned. *I should probably get to sleep too…* With that, she lay down on the bed and began dozing…

(Late morning)

After waking up, May and her Pokémon left the Pokémon Center and headed north to train. There were some trainers, mostly fishermen. After traveling far enough, though, they encountered a cave that lead into the rocky hills.  
May turned to face her three Pokémon.  
"Hm… Do you think we should check it out?"  
Both Combusken and Tentacool nodded their approval.  
-(We might as well.)-  
"Alright, then! Let's go!"  
With that, they ventured into the cave.

(Granite Cave)

Upon entering the cave, May looked at her surroundings. The cave was quite spacious, with dark brown walls. The walls were also dotted with various types of valuable gems, such as rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. Various bat-like Pokémon flew around the cave, while small, white Pokémon ran around amidst several rocks on the ground.  
Shortly after entering the cave, May noticed a hiker looking around, with a Geodude by his side. Just then, he noticed her. He called out to her, saying, "Hey you. It gets awful dark ahead. It'll be tough trying to explore. That guy who came by earlier… Steven, I think it was. He knew how to use Flash, so he ought to be alright, but…"  
"Oh, Steven went into the caves?"  
"Yeah, that's what the guy said his name was. Well, for us hikers, helping out those that we meet on the trail is one of the things we do best. Here, I'll pass this onto you." He held out a pair of white discs, both of them resembling the ones that Roxanne had given May.  
"The one on the right's HM01, Cut. The one on the left's HM04, Flash. They're both labeled on the backs of the discs. You can only use Cut if you've beaten Roxanne, and you can only use Flash if you've beaten Brawly."  
"Thanks for the HMs! I can't use Flash yet, though… I guess I'll have to go get Brawly's badge, then!"  
With that, she turned around and began running towards Dewford Town. Her Pokémon then turned and followed her, with Ralts secretly thinking, *How is she so energetic all the time?*

(Dewford Gym)

The Dewford Gym was much more of a maze than Rustboro Gym was, with multiple dead ends and branching paths. This wasn't obvious at first sight, however, due to the Gym's other gimmick: the only lights in the gym were in the front of the Gym, the back of the Gym (where Brawly was), and from several spotlights that shined down from above and followed any trainers that entered the Gym.

May was temporarily blinded when she entered the gym, as one of the various spotlights turned on and shined down on her, but her eyes soon adjusted. As soon as her sight recovered, she saw the same man that she had met in the Rustboro Gym standing there.

"Oh, hey! It's you, the guy from the Rustboro Gym!"  
"Actually, I'm one of his seven brothers. It's an easy mistake to make, so don't worry about it."  
"Oh, alright then. Er, tell your brother I'm sorry for forgetting to talk to him while I was leaving the Rustboro Gym. One of my Pokémon was injured, so I just forgot about him…"  
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure that he would understand that you were thinking about your Pokémon so much, you didn't even think about him on your way out."  
"Okay, but apologize to him anyways, the next time you see him, alright?"  
"Sure, sure. Anyways, I'm sure you're wondering about Brawly. He specializes in Fighting-Type Pokémon, so they'll smack down any Normal, Steel, Rock, or Dark Type Pokémon without breaking a sweat. They're weak to Flying and Psychic Type moves, though, and their high-power attacks don't work so well against Poison, Flying, Bug, or Psychic Pokémon. Be careful, though! This gym's as dark as the ocean floor, but it'll get brighter as you defeat more trainers. With that said, go for it!"  
"Alright, guys, let's go!"  
May ran off into the maze. Tentacool and Combusken immediately ran after her. Ralts took a moment to sigh, before running after her as well.  
*She has a bad tendency to run off without thinking, doesn't she? I suppose it can't be helped, though. Still, that guy said that Fighting Types are weak against Psychic type moves. Hehe, this'll be fun…*

(A few minutes later)

After several trainer battles (and a few wrong turns), May (and her three Pokémon) finally found Brawly. He was wearing an orange shirt, light-blue shorts, and grey and orange tennis shoes. His hair was a light shade of blue, and he appeared to be in his 20s.  
May found him lying down on a small, elevated platform, in front of a door. When she walked closer, she found that he was actually sleeping.  
"Hey, why're you asleep? Aren't you Brawly?"  
He slowly began to stand up, still drowsy.  
"Huh? Yeah, I'm Brawly. I guess you're here to challenge me, right?"  
"Yeah, that's right. Why the heck were you sleeping just then? What if a challenger wanted to battle you, and you were asleep?"  
"I'm… *yawn* a pretty light sleeper, so yeah… Anyways, let's get out into the battlefield and have our fight. "

He opened the door and walked into the room. Like the Rustboro Gym, a large field stretched across it. Brawly went to one end of the field, and May went to the other end. Before they began battling, Brawly started bragging about his achievements.  
"Just so you know, I've been churned in the rough waves of these parts, and I've grown tough in the pitch-black cave! If you're not confident enough to face me, you can back out!"  
"Thanks for the offer, but I'm afraid I'm not leaving Dewford Island without beating you first!"  
"Hehe, you're pretty gutsy! I like that! Say, what's your name?"  
"The name's May, and you better remember it when I'm the Champion!"  
"Wow, you're really confident! Haha, you remind me of Norman! Alright, enough talking! Machop, let's do this!"  
He then released a short, gray, humanoid Pokémon with three tan ridges on top of its head.  
"Alright, Ralts, let's go!"  
Ralts jumped out onto the battlefield.  
"Alright, Ralts, use Confusion!"  
Ralts lifted the Machop into the air and tossed it very roughly against the ground. When the dust had faded, it was clear that Machop was unable to battle. Brawly then had to recall Machop.  
-(Hehe, is that all you've got?)-

Brawly was slightly disgruntled, but was still confident.  
"Don't get cocky, now! You may have tossed away my Machop, but I still have two more Pokémon left! Go, Meditite!"  
He then released a Pokémon that vaguely resembled a monkey with a white head and blue arms and legs. On its face were small red markings.  
"Alright, Ralts, that's enough! Tentacool, it's your time to shine!"  
Ralts nodded, and leapt back to May's side. Tentacool then jumped out onto the field.  
"Okay, Tentacool, use Supersonic!"  
Tentacool then released several light blue circles, which flew towards the Meditite and hit it directly, knocking it down.  
The Meditite didn't appear to be injured, but when it got up, it was obviously very disoriented.  
"C'mon, Meditite! Shake it off! Use Focus Punch!"  
The Meditite tried to use Focus Punch, but ended up accidentally punching itself in the face. It was instantly fainted by its own attack. Brawly, once again, had to recall his fainted Pokémon.

"Gyah, this is lookin' bad… I'm not giving up yet, though! Makuhita, my hope's riding on you!"  
He then released his final Pokémon, a short, bulky Pokémon with yellowish skin.  
"Alright, Tentacool, good job! Combusken, let's finish this!"  
Tentacool jumped back to May, and Combusken went out onto the field.  
"Combusken, Double Kick!"  
Combusken ran up to the Makuhita and kicked it into the air. As it began falling back down, Combusken unleashed another kick and knocked the Makuhita backwards. Despite the power of Combusken's kicks, the Makuhita was still standing.  
"Don't think that Makuhita's going to be knocked down like the other two of my Pokémon! Let's see how you like Reversal!"  
Makuhita then quickly rushed forward with its palm extended outwards. It hit Combusken with its palm, and launched Combusken across the field. Combusken was only barely able to get back up.  
"No! Combusken!"  
"How do ya like that? Reversal does way more damage if the Pokémon that uses it is hurt!"  
Despite the extremely powerful Reversal attack, Combusken still was able to hang on. Its body began to radiate fire, and it seemed more determined than ever to win. Brawly was evidently unnerved by this occurrence.  
"Oh no, I forgot about Blaze… This could be bad…"  
"Alright, Combusken, let's finish that Makuhita off! Use Ember!"  
Combusken then fired off a massive flurry of fireballs at the Makuhita. It was pummeled and pummeled by fireballs, until finally, Combusken ceased firing. After the Ember attack had finally stopped, it was obvious that Makuhita was fainted.

"Yeah! Good work, Combusken!"  
May ran out onto the field and hugged Combusken, who receive the act of affection with enthusiasm. Brawly sighed and recalled his final fainted Pokémon.  
"Well, you made a much bigger splash than I had expected, May! Here, take the Knuckle Badge."  
He then tossed the badge towards May, and she managed to catch it. The Knuckle Badge vaguely resembled a blue boxing glove with a small, orange circle at the bottom of it.  
Brawly said, "That badge lets you use the HM move Flash to illuminate dark areas. If you'd like, use this Technical Machine, too."  
He then tossed towards May an orange disc, which she also caught.  
"That TM contains Bulk Up. It's a move that ups the Attack and Defense of the Pokémon that uses it. It's a pretty handy move."  
"Thanks, Brawly!"  
May then started towards the entrance of the Gym, with Combusken and Tentacool close behind, as usual. Ralts, on the other hand, stayed back and gave Brawly some advice.

-(You know, I really expected you to be more of a challenge. Maybe you should expand your type range beyond just Fighting types, so trainers with Flying and Psychic types won't defeat your team so easily.)-  
With that, she then ran off as well. Brawly quietly contemplated what she had said. In hindsight, perhaps a team consisting of two pure Fighting types and one Fighting/Psychic type with no offensive moves that weren't Fighting type wasn't the best team. *At the very least,* he thought ,*I should have his Pokémon learn moves that can counter types that Fighting is ineffective against, like Flying types. Maybe Roxanne could help me, there…*

(In the entranceway of the Dewford Gym)

As May walked into the entranceway again, the man congratulated her, saying, "Hey, good work! The statues changed to show that you've beaten Brawly, now!"  
He then gestured towards one of the two statues in the room, which May hadn't really paid attention to. On the front of them, there was a small, digital screen. On it, it said:

Dewford Gym  
Leader: Brawly  
Qualified Trainers: May

"Wow, that's really cool! I actually didn't notice that before."  
"Yeah, it's a really nifty system. For some reason, Roxanne didn't want it implemented in her Gym, though. No idea why. Anyways, make sure to talk to my other 6 brothers in the next 6 Gyms. They'll be invaluable for victory."  
"Thanks for the help!"  
"It's no problem at all. Just keep on going, towards victory!"  
"Alright, I definitely will!"  
She then walked outside, followed by her Combusken and Tentacool. After a few seconds, her Ralts came running out of the maze.  
-(May! Wait up! C'mon, don't leave me back here!)-  
She hurriedly ran outside and looked around. She spotted May running off towards the Pokémon Center. She then started off towards the Center as well, intent on catching up to her trainer.

(Deep in Granite Cave)

Steven examined the walls of the cave. They were full of minerals, just waiting to be taken…  
He shook himself. He was not here to collect minerals, he was here to meet N's daughter. He needed to remember his priorities.  
Suddenly, his PokéNav shook. He flipped it open and put it to his ear. He listened to what his caller had to say, and then responded, "I see. Thank you for telling me. Goodbye." He then closed the PokéNav.  
B had called to say that a girl named May had just defeated him. He thought over the new information. Perhaps this girl was the one that R was talking about…  
He decided to put it to luck and wait. Something big was happening in Hoenn, and if he could get this trainer on the League's side, she could be an excellent asset to their cause.

**Author's Note**: There we go, Dewford Gym. I apologize if it seemed like an anti-climax, but I don't see any way that I could made it particularly difficult for May unless I had invoked the power of plot for Brawly. Also, keep in mind that updates are going to be more scarce from now on due to school starting up. Anyways, as usual, feel free to review if you liked or disliked something about the story.


	10. Chapter 10: Don't Take It For Granite

_Chapter 10. This is a milestone for me. Which is… honestly rather sad. Ah well, you don't become J.R.R. Tolkien from writing fanfiction for a few weeks. Let's rock and roll._

_Moves, Levels, and other traits_  
_Ralts: Level 19_  
_Type: Psychic_  
_Gender: Female_  
_Nature: Adamant_  
_Ability: Synchronize_  
_Primary Moves: Growl, Confusion, Double Team, Teleport_  
_Secondary Moves: None_

_Combusken: Level 21  
Type: Fire/Fighting  
Gender: Male  
Nature: Brave  
Ability: Blaze  
Primary Moves: Sand Attack, Ember, Peck, Double Kick  
Secondary Moves: Growl, Focus Energy, Scratch_

_Tentacool: Level 19  
Type: Water/Poison  
Gender: Male  
Nature: Relaxed  
Ability: Clear Body  
Primary Moves: Poison Sting, Supersonic, Constrict, Acid  
Secondary Moves: None_

_Dialogue Key:  
"Example." = Standard talking.  
*Example.* = Thoughts/sound effect. (Note that I may sometimes state what a character is/was  
thinking, or may make sound effects part of their standard dialogue.)  
-(Example)- = Telepathy. (This is going to be Ralts' way of communication.)  
(Example) = A shift in perspective, time, and/or location, or a side-note.  
_  
(Dewford Pokémon Center)

May waited as Nurse Joy healed all of her Pokémon. Ralts had lagged behind, but she eventually managed to catch up. Soon, the healing machine chimed, and Nurse Joy took out the Poké Balls and handed them back to May. May then walked outside, and then started towards the Granite Cave, where Steven (apparently) was. Now that she had the Knuckle Badge, she would be able to see in the darker areas of the cave.

(Granite Cave)

May entered the cave once more, with Combusken and Ralts close behind her. The Hiker from last time wasn't there anymore, but there was a young man in a white lab coat, sitting on one of the various rocks. Upon seeing them, he stood up and began walking over.  
"Ah, perfekt timing. I am another of Professor Birch's Aides. If you vould kindly hand me your Pokédex, I shall upgrade it to ze latest version."  
May hesitated for a second, but then handed over her Pokédex. The Aide turned around and began fiddling with it, much like the previous Aide she encountered.

"Ah, zere ve go… Come on, come on…" Suddenly, he began laughing maniacally. "Ahahahaha, ahahahahaha, AHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHA-oh, ze process is over."  
He turned around and handed May her Pokédex. It now had a small box-shaped attachment on its back. The attachment had a slot on the bottom, and a button on its back.  
"Ah, yes. Ze Pokédex vill now tell you whether or not a Pokémon can learn a specific TM or HM. Simply insert ze disc and point ze Pokédex at one of your Pokémon, and it vill tell you whether or not zat Pokémon can learn zat move. Aftervards, just press the button to eject the disc. Incidentally, you are going to Slateport City soon, ja?" May nodded.  
"I see. Vell, please give my regards to meine sister, Ambrosia. She is ze Nurse Joy zere, you see. Ah, vould you look at ze time! I must be off. Auf wiedersehen, fräulein, and viel glück!" He then ran out of the cave.  
After a few seconds, when they knew he was gone (and out of earshot), Ralts and May began talking.

-(Well that was… interesting.)-  
"Yeah, his accent was really weird… Still, I can see this upgrade being really useful in the future. It'll help let me know when one of you can learn a TM or HM… Oh! That's right! I still have to teach one of you Flash!"  
May put her bag down and pulled out the TM case. She took out the disc labeled HM04 and put it into her Pokédex. She then pointed her Pokédex at Combusken. The words "INCOMPATIBLE WITH HM04" flashed onto the screen. May then pointed it at Ralts. This time, the words "COMPATIBLE" appeared on the screen. May then pressed the button, and the HM popped out of the Pokédex. She then took the disc player and the headphones out of the TM case.

-(Wait, wait, wait. Are you doing what I think you're doing? Because if so, I'm not sure if I like this plan.)-  
"C'mon, Ralts. It won't be that bad."  
-(Fine, but if I get permanent mental damage, you're going to be to blame for it.)-  
"Fair enough."  
May placed the headphones on Ralts' head and connected the headphones to the disc player. She then set the HM into the disc player, closed the player's top, and it on. Soon, the disc was rotating, and Ralts appeared to be in a trance of sorts. After a few seconds, the player stopped, the top opened, and Ralts regained her senses.  
-(Well, that was… an interesting experience. Not particularly painful, but not necessarily enjoyable, either.)-  
"See? I told you it wouldn't be that bad. Anyways, you should know Flash now. Let's see what the Pokédex has to say."

She took her Pokédex out of her pocket and flipped it open. She then navigated to the Moves screen, and pointed her Pokédex at Ralts. As she had anticipated, it listed Flash in the list of her moves.  
"Yep, it's there! Now, let's get going! We still need to deliver that letter!"  
With that, they began walking further into the cave. Soon, they encountered a hole in the cave's floor. In it, a rickety wooden ladder was propped up onto the rim of the hole. May climbed down, followed by Ralts and Combusken. The ladder was rather tall, but they got down to the next level's floor eventually. This floor was much darker than the one above, to the point where May, Ralts, and Combusken could barely see. The only light was coming from above, through the hole.

"Okay, Ralts, let's see that Flash move!"  
-(You got it, May!)-  
Ralts' horns soon began glowing. The brightness continued growing, until finally, the entire room they were in was illuminated. May gasped. The room was huge in size, though it didn't appear so before. The walls were completely blanketed in various types of gems, much like the ones in the walls of the floor above. She saw various wild Pokémon running around, trying to hide from the bright light. Among them, she saw a few cream-colored Pokémon with what appeared to have large jaws attached to their heads, as well as several dark purple Pokémon with bodies covered with gems. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a blue, round, levitating Pokémon moving deeper into the cave. It vaguely resembled a buckler shield, with round orbs around its circumference, as well as a plant-like pattern on it._  
_"Huh, that's weird_._ I wonder where it's going."  
Just then, it turned around to face them. It was revealed, then, that the Pokémon had a face, with two large, yellow eyes. It then spun around, as if to invite them to follow it, and again began travelling deeper into the cave.  
"I think it wants us to follow it, guys. Let's go!"  
-(I just hope this isn't a trap…)-  
Regardless of Ralts' concerns, they began chasing after the Pokémon. They went through several twists and turns, until finally, they caught sight of a light ahead of them. The Pokémon appeared to be heading towards the light, for some reason. The three of them began running even faster, determined on finding what lay at the end of the path…

(Deep in Granite Cave, a few minutes before May and her Pokémon saw the light)

Steven looked at his watch. According to his calculations, May would be with him soon. Suddenly, the Pokémon standing beside him, Aggron, roared and looked around agitatedly. Steven sighed.  
"Aggron, calm down. I know that there have been many tremors around Hoenn lately, but I'm sure they're natural. There's no need for alarm."  
His Aggron then calmed down, though it still seemed a bit on edge. Steven's mind raced. Despite what he had said, he knew that the armored Pokémon's worries might be justified. There had been many more tremors than usual lately. He had been given reports that Team Magma was active around Mt. Chimney, as well. Perhaps these two things weren't entirely unrelated. Suddenly, his Bronzor flew into the room, followed by three figures: a female Trainer, a Ralts, and a Combusken.

(POV switch)

May looked around the room. It was a medium-sized room, though small in comparison to the room from before. There was a small lantern hanging from the ceiling of the room, which was evidently the source of the light. The walls, as before, were completely covered in jewels. The gems twinkled in the light of the small lantern. She then looked at the elephants in the room: the man standing before her, as well as his Pokémon.

The man was wearing a businesslike black suit with purple stripes along with a red tie. Two purple-silver bracelets wrapped around his upper-arms, and his left hand was adorned with two rings, similar in design to the bracelets. His hair was rather messy, and yet had a very order-like feel to it. His eyes were whitish, steely, with a certain piercing trait to them. Overall, this man gave off a very professional, straightforward aura.  
His Pokémon was a massive, armored, bipedal creature. It was covered in various silver plates, which covered its thighs, arms, back, and head. The rest of its body was made up of dark and smooth rock plates. Its head had two sharp horns protruding upwards, along with a sharp piece of plating jutting forward. Under said plating, there were two sharp, cyan eyes, as well as a rigid steel jawbone. All in all, this Pokémon was extremely intimidating.  
The man sternly looked over May and her Pokémon for a few seconds, before beginning a conversation.

"I see you've found us. I am Steven, and this is one of my partners, Aggron. The Pokémon you followed, Bronzor, also happens to be mine. But enough about me. Why are you here?"  
May was a bit scared, but still answered, "My name's May, and I came here to deliver this letter to you."  
She pulled the letter out of her backpack and held it out to Steven. He took it from her, opened the envelope, and quickly read over the contents.  
"I see… Well, thank you for delivering this to me. So, if you don't mind me asking, how far have you come at this point?"  
"Well, I star-"

Suddenly, Aggron began roaring wildly.  
"Aggron, calm down! You're going to-"  
The ground began shaking just then. A few rocks began falling from the ceiling.  
-(M-May, what's happening?!)-  
"I don't know, Ralts, but-"  
Out of nowhere, a drill broke through the wall, then retracted. A group of men in red outfits then jumped out of the newly-formed hole.  
"There you are! Get ready for a pummeling!"  
Steven acted quickly.  
"Aggron, Hyper Beam!"  
His Aggron then released a massive energy beam at the three men. Two of them deftly dodged the attack, but the third one took the full brunt of the blow. He was knocked back into the hole they had drilled.  
"May, run! Get back to Dewford Town! Bronzor, show them the way!"  
Bronzor then swiftly exited the room, and May, Combusken, and Ralts followed suit. As they ran, they could hear the sounds of battle behind them. They also could hear what sounded like more drills piercing through the cave's walls. However, they were too focused on their path to look back.

Soon, they had reached the room with the ladder. Before they could ascend, however, a group of Team Aqua Grunts jumped down into the room.  
"Hey, you! Surrender to Team Aqua, or prepare to get beaten!"  
"Fat chance! Ralts, Confusion!"  
-(Way ahead of you, May!)-  
The Grunts were levitated into the air and thrown into one of the walls. As soon as they were down, however, three more grunts jumped into the room.  
"Crap! Ralts, Combusken, I have a plan! Get back into the tunnels!"  
-(W-wait, what?!)-  
Before Ralts could react, May, Combusken, and Bronzor were all running back towards the tunnel maze. Suddenly, one of the Team Aqua members, a female, grabbed Ralts and held her tightly.  
"Hah! Gotcha!"  
-(In your dreams!)-  
She then used her powers to force one of the Grunt's teammates to tackle the woman. This caused the woman to let go of Ralts, and in the confusion, she was able to slip away and get back into the tunnel maze. She was able to catch up to May rather quickly, and then they attempted to find a place to hide.

Soon, they were able to find a hiding place within the maze. It was in a curved alcove, connected to the main path to the room Steven was in. They hid at the very end of it, where none of the Grunts could find them without going out of their way.  
May peeked around the corner, at the "main" path. She saw a large group Team Aqua Grunts walking in the direction of Steven's room, followed by a woman who appeared to be in charge of the operation. She had red, puffy hair, as well as a black top. Her outfit was far more revealing in comparison to those of the standard Grunts, and the colors of her clothes were strikingly different. When she spoke, her voice was smooth, cold, and cruel.  
"Get going, men. Team Magma may be trying to impede our noble goals, but we aren't going to let that happen. Steven is coming with us, no matter what-"  
A huge blast of fire suddenly came from the other direction, scorching several of the Team Aqua members. While they ran back from where they came, the remaining Grunts, as well as their leader, sent out several Water-Type Pokémon to combat this threat. Most of the Grunts tossed out weaker Pokémon, such as Wingull, whereas their leader sent out an intimidating puffer fish-like Pokémon. May then heard another voice, female and enthusiastic, came from the direction of the attack.  
"Get outta here, you Team Aqua bastards! Steven's ours, and you can't do anything about it!"  
"My my, you are a testy little girl, aren't you? No matter. We'll just knock you out of the way, along with the rest of your misguided friends. Qwilfish, Water Gun!"  
The puffer-fish Pokémon then fired a blast of water in the direction of the other voice. The effect was apparently devastating, as the other voice responded, "Gah! Team Magma, fighting retreat! Make them pay for every inch!" A flurry of fireballs followed, bombarding Team Aqua. The fighting went on for several minutes, until finally, Team Aqua was able to push hard enough to take the ground. As they front line moved towards Steven's room, more and more Team Aqua Grunts began appearing, most of them simply marching past the group.

Finally, May turned back and examined the state of their group. Steven's Bronzor was still with them, as it had been assigned to them by Steven, and at the moment, wasn't able to get back to its trainer. At the moment, it was producing a faint light, so they could see. Besides that, Ralts and Combusken were still at May's side. Ralts seemed a bit off, for some reason, but Combusken was willing and able to do battle. May grimaced as she realized the danger they were in. At the moment, conflict with one of the Teams (or possibly both) seemed inevitable. She then decided to peek around the corner again. At this point, Team Magma had redoubled its efforts, and now had control of the passageway. Suddenly, two of the Team Magma Grunts broke off from the main stream and began walking into the alcove. May recoiled, and quickly crept out of sight. One of them was a male, and the other a female. She heard their voices as they gradually drew closer.

"Ugh, why are we doing this, anyways? What does this one guy have anything to do with expanding the land? You're a girl, you probably know more about this than I do."  
"As much as I'd like to say that I do know what's going on, I really don't. Also, don't stereotype like that. It's not going to make you very popular."  
"Sorry. Still, I don't understand why Magma HQ's so hell-bent on getting one person. I mean, sure, he used to be Champion, but I don't see why that makes HQ want to capture him."  
"One of the Admins, Tabitha, was blabbing off earlier. He said they were going after Steven because of all of the information in his head. I don't get it, though. What does he know that makes him so valuable?"  
"I dunno. Say, you wanna check this passage for him? I mean, chances are he isn't at the end, but it never hurts to make sure."  
"I guess so. It's not like we have anything else to do, what with Courtney and her entourage doing so well."

May gasped. If they discovered them, the four of them could be in major trouble. She then noticed that Ralts was acting very oddly – she appeared to sickly and tired. Combusken was sitting beside her, his claw on her forehead, and Bronzor was revolving around her. May crawled over to Ralts, and whispered, "Ralts, what's wrong?"  
-(I don't know… I just feel… off… I mean, I don't feel bad, but I don't really feel good, either… it's weird…)-  
May then noticed that the voices were getting closer. She closed her eyes for a second, as she thought of what to do, and then opened them, determined on fighting to the end. Even if she only had Tentacool and Combusken, she wouldn't stop fighting until she was dead.

"Combusken!" she whispered harshly. "Get ready! Win or lose, we're gonna fight 'till we drop!"  
Combusken nodded, and then jumped up and ran over to May. She watched as the figures gradually got closer…  
"Ember, now!"  
Combusken then fired off a large flurry of fireballs at the two Grunts. Their clothes quickly caught fire, and they ran off, presumably to get help from the other Grunts. May then released Tentacool, who, though rather disoriented, quickly adapted and became prepared for battle. Bronzor also floated forward, prepared to fight as long as it could. Soon, a swarm of Team Magma Grunts was moving down the hallway, each with their own Pokémon, ready to defeat the enemies of Team Magma.  
Combusken, Tentacool, and Bronzor rather easily held their own against the seemingly endless waves of Grunts. May directed them for most of the fight, occasionally taking breaks to check on Ralts. Ralts' condition wasn't improving, and she seemed even worse than before. She didn't even bother responding to May's queries via telepathy, only nodding her head. May was worried. Even if they somehow held off the Grunts, what was wrong with Ralts? She put this in the back of her mind for now, though, as she still needed to direct her Pokémon.

After several minutes of conflict, the tide of the battle went against Team Magma. Their numbers gradually dwindled, until they at last were defeated.  
"Hehe, I guess we finally won…"  
Unfortunately, the victory was short-lived, as Team Aqua soon took Team Magma's place in assaulting May's position. This time, though, they were led by their Admin.  
"Well, what do we have here? I would normally think you would be part of Team Magma, due to your choice of clothes, but considering how you drove most of them off, I'd say you weren't particularly fond of them. You did well, too. If it weren't for the fact that we don't have any open spaces, I'd invite you to join our Team as an Admin and aid our noble cause."  
"Sorry, lady, but I'm not gonna help your group! You're just a group of thugs and villains who prey on the weak!"  
"I'm sorry you feel that way. Oh well, I suppose not everyone can immediately conform to our desires. And besides, it would be no fun if everyone just surrendered immediately. Grunts, get her!"  
With that, they were once again assailed by a horde of Grunts, though this time, their affiliation was Team Aqua. By now, Bronzor, Tentacool, and even Combusken were beginning to tire, and the fact that Team Aqua often used Water-types didn't help matters. *At this rate,* May thought, *we're gonna get overwhelmed. And who knows what they'll do to us then…*

Suddenly, while she was directing her Pokémon, May heard a groan coming from where Ralts was. She quickly ran over to Ralts. May noticed that Ralts was clutching the sides of her head, as well as writhing a little.  
"Ralts, what's happening?"  
-(I don't know… I just feel… something… moving in my body… I don't know what's going on at all… I feel weird…)-  
May picked up Ralts and carefully positioned her in her arms.  
"Don't worry, everything's going to be fine… Just keep calm…"  
All of the sudden, Ralts began glowing white. May gasped, as she realized Ralts was changing form. She was entirely enveloped by the light at this point, and her body gradually transformed into its new shape. Her horns shifted from the front and back of her head to the sides of her head, and turned to become horizontal instead of vertical. Her previous legs grew into what appeared to be a tutu of sorts, and a new pair of long, thin legs sprouted in their place. Her arms roughly doubled in size (though they became much thinner), and her hair grew out, with two large "bangs" growing out on the sides, and one small crest of hair slithering down her face and ending in a point. Gradually, the light subsided, revealing Ralts' evolved form, Kirlia.

-(Woah, that was… weird.)-  
"Y-you could say that…"  
Just then, Combusken was knocked back into the cave wall by a blast of water. It then slid to the ground, fainted.  
"Um, I think we should act first, talk later."  
-(That _might_ be a decent plan, yeah.)-  
Kirlia jumped out of May's arms and ran over to where the battle was raging. Tentacool and Bronzor were still there, but they were getting more and more winded. At this point, the Aqua Admin had sent her Qwilfish into the fray. It was doing a rather poor job, as its attacks weren't doing much damage at all, but it still kept fighting and fighting. An idea then popped into Kirlia's head. She levitated the Qwilfish, and then tossed it backwards at the crowd of Team Aqua Grunts. The effect was devastating; all of the Grunts, as well as their Pokémon, were completely blown over.  
"Gah, you idiots! How do you plan on defeating Team Magma when you can't even defeat one pesky trainer? What are you going to do, make them laugh so hard that they'll die?!"  
Just then, the ground began shaking again. Rocks began falling from the ceiling, and this time, they came down hard. Several large rocks landed on Team Aqua members, severely injuring them. A large group of rocks fell down in-between Team Aqua and May's group, rather conveniently blocking Team Aqua from attacking any more. May was confused by this, but the reason for the earthquake soon became apparent: a drill penetrated through one of the walls in the alcove, and then retracted, as it had during Team Magma's initial attack. This time, however, it was not Team Magma that popped out of the hole in the wall, but instead, it was Team Rocket.

James was the first to crawl out of the hole, followed by Jessie and Meowth.  
"Aha, there you are! Using our incredible intellect, we were able to escape from the prison, and dig ourselves here! Now, Jessie, Meowth, and I, James, will de-"  
His heroic speech was cut short by a large rock being psychically thrown into his stomach. He keeled over, paralyzed. Jessie and Meowth attempted to retaliate, but Jessie was also hit by a large rock, and Meowth was kicked in the face and knocked out. Kirlia grinned. "Hehe, it's good to know these chumps haven't improved at all from the last time we met them. Let's get going!"  
She then started down into the hole Team Rocket had oh-so-kindly drilled. May recalled Combusken, and she too ran into the hole, followed by Tentacool and Bronzor. They weaved and wound through the tunnel, only stopping when the path was more vertical than it was horizontal, and even then, they were able to overcome the altitudes.  
Back in the alcove, Jessie, James, and Meowth all lay on the ground.  
"Jessie, I don't think our plan went so well…"  
"That's putting it lightly, I think…"  
"Oh well, we're used ta being tossed around like a buncha horseshoes…"  
"Team Rocket's blasting off agaaaiiinnnn…"

**Author's Note**: Oh dear lord I am sorry for the hiatus. GAH. For those of you who need an explanation for the lack of updating, let's just say school + homework + videogames + internet = lack of any meaningful progress. Ah well. At least I update at all, I suppose. Still, it hurt me so so much not to update at all for so long. I apologize for sorta ending this chapter off abruptly, but I'm typing this at 11:50 PM, and I kinda just want to get this chapter over with. Hopefully the next chapter or two won't be so delayed. Also, I am sorta kinda maybe not really sorry for the terrible pun.


	11. Chapter 11: Boats, Comedy, and Hiatuses

Ah, I love browsing the internet… Oh, right, fanfiction. Just so you guys and gals know, from now on, I'm going to try to make the chapters around 5,000 words each, give or take. Other than that little note, I can't think of anything to put up here, and if I happen to remember, I'll just put it down at the Author's Note. I believe it's show-time, then.

Moves, Levels, and other traits  
Kirlia: Level 20  
Type: Psychic  
Gender: Female  
Nature: Adamant  
Ability: Synchronize  
Primary Moves: Growl, Confusion, Double Team, Teleport  
Secondary Moves: Flash

Combusken: Level 22  
Type: Fire/Fighting  
Gender: Male  
Nature: Brave  
Ability: Blaze  
Primary Moves: Sand Attack, Ember, Peck, Double Kick  
Secondary Moves: Growl, Focus Energy, Scratch

Tentacool: Level 20  
Type: Water/Poison  
Gender: Male  
Nature: Relaxed  
Ability: Clear Body  
Primary Moves: Poison Sting, Supersonic, Constrict, Acid  
Secondary Moves: None

Dialogue Key:  
"Example." = Standard talking.  
*Example.* = Thoughts/sound effect. (Note that I may sometimes state what a character is/was thinking, or may make sound effects part of their standard dialogue.)  
-(Example)- = Telepathy. (This is going to be Kirlia's way of communication.)  
(Example) = A shift in perspective, time, and/or location, or a side-note.

* * *

(Dewford Police Station)

The Dewford Officer Jenny stared at the hole in the cell's floor and sighed. Somehow, Team Rocket had made a drill and used it to break out of their prison cell. She knelt next to the hole and looked into it. They had drilled downwards, and after a few feet of drilling, had turned and begun drilling horizontally through the ground beneath the station. Officer Jenny sighed. She knew that by now, they would probably be so far away from the station, it would be useless to try to catch them.

Suddenly, a short, green-haired figure appeared in the hole. It then looked upwards, revealing white skin and red eyes.  
-(Er, hi, Officer Jenny.)-  
"Wait a minute, aren't you that Pokémon that Team Rocket tried to steal?"  
-(Well, yeah, kinda. It's a bit complicated. Come on, May!)-  
She turned around and looked in the direction that she came from, and soon enough, May was there with her, followed by Tentacool and Bronzor.  
"Sorry, Kirlia. I had a bit of trouble getting through there. Oh, hey, Officer Jenny!"  
"Wait a minute, what are you guys doing down there in the first place?"  
-(Can we talk about this later? For now, May needs some help getting up there.)-  
"S-sure, if you want me to. May, try to grab my hand."  
Officer Jenny extended her hand downwards, and May grabbed it. Although it took quite a bit of effort, Officer Jenny was able to drag May up into the police station. Bronzor levitated upwards out of the hole, with Tentacool latching onto it. May then walked over to the hole and looked down at Kirlia.  
"Kirlia, do you need one of us to lift you up here?"  
-(Not really. I can get up there on my own.)-  
"Wait, what are you doing?!"  
-(Just wait and see...)-

Kirlia then closed her eyes, and became shrouded in a multicolor light. Suddenly, she disappeared completely.  
"W-what?! Kirlia, where did you go?!"  
Then, just as suddenly as she had disappeared, Kirlia reappeared next to May.  
"Agh! What the-?!  
-(A bit surprised, eh? Yeah, I _might_ have learned how to Teleport recently. Oh, right, I didn't tell you that, did I? Oh well.)-  
"Jeez, Kirlia, stop pulling out surprises like this! You're gonna make me paranoid!"  
-(Hehe, sorry, but be happy that I'm telling you these things now. I assume you would rather know these things now instead of later.)-  
"I guess so, but it's just startling how many strange things have been happening lately…"  
-(Let's not dwell on things too much, alright? Anyways, Officer Jenny, if you're wondering where Team Rocket is, the last time we saw them, they were at the end of this tunnel. Be careful, though, because Team Magma and Team Aqua were also stalking about down there, too.)-  
"Alright, then. I'll be going down there in a bit. Go and rest, you two."  
With that, May, Kirlia, and Tentacool started off towards the Pokémon Center, Bronzor flew off to try and find Steven, and Officer Jenny began preparing to travel into the tunnel.

(Dewford Pokémon Center)

After reaching the Pokémon Center, May recalled her two remaining Pokémon and then gave her Poké Balls and gave them to Nurse Joy. While her Pokémon were healing, though, Steven limped into the main room of the Pokémon Center, with Aggron supporting him and Bronzor orbiting around him. He appeared to be quite hurt, with his suit torn in many places and signs of bruising on his face.

"Steven! Are you alright?!"  
May rushed over to him, as did Nurse Joy. He looked up at them, and then wearily responded, "Yeah, I'm fine… Just a little beat up…"  
"But… You look so… Wait, are you bleeding?!"  
Indeed, parts of Steven's suit were a dark sanguine color, and it was obvious that the blood hadn't stopped flowing yet.  
"It's… fine… I'm…"  
Suddenly, he lurched violently out of Aggron's grasp, but Nurse Joy and May were able to catch him.  
"Steven, you're bleeding! How can you say that you're fine?!"  
"I've… had worse…"  
Nurse Joy shook her head incredulously, then said, "Whether or not you've been in worse condition before doesn't matter right now. We need to get you into one of the back rooms. May, I can handle this. You go get your Pokémon out of the healing machine. Sawk and I will get Steven to one of the beds. Sawk! Get in here!"

Sawk then ran into the room and helped Nurse Joy support Steven. May, after making sure he was properly held up, went over to the healing machine and took out her Poké Balls. After taking one last look at Steven, who was by now being carried into one of the back hallways, she started towards the stairs.

(May's room)

May paced around the room. She had released her Pokémon, who were now relaxing in various areas of the room. Kirlia was lying down on the large bed, Combusken was resting in one of the smaller beds, and Tentacool was in the bathroom's bathtub, playing in the water. May, on the other hand, was busy worrying about Steven. How did this happen to him? Steven seemed like a very skilled trainer, and the Team Magma and Aqua goons didn't seem very skilled…

-(Is something wrong, May? You seem troubled.)-  
May, jolted out of her thoughts, turned to face the source of the question. Kirlia's face was one of concern and worry. May decided that she might as well talk to Kirlia, and walked over to the bed and sat down beside the Pokémon.  
"You remember Steven, right?"  
-(Of course I do, but what's concerning you about him?)-  
"Well, while you were in the healing machine, he came into the Pokémon Center. He was bleeding all over, and he looked to be in a lot of pain. It was really frightening…"  
-(I see… Well, there's always the chance that one of the grunts jumped him while he had his back turned and roughed him up, or that he might have accidentally tripped, or something.)-  
"I don't think that a run-of-the-mill grunt could've done that much damage, and I'm almost sure that tripping couldn't make him bleed all over unless he fell down a very deep hole."  
-(Well, I can't really think of anything else, so those are my best guesses. If you want, I can go down and see how he is.)-  
"I would really like that, yeah."  
-(I'll go down right now, then. I'll come back up in a bit.)-  
"Thanks, Kirlia. I might be asleep when you come back up, so you might need to tell me tomorrow morning, alright?"  
-(Noted. Well then, off I go…)-  
With that, she jumped off of the bed and started towards the door. Before leaving, though, she stopped and turned to face May.  
-(Oh, that's right, I'm going to need the keycard to get back into here. Can you toss it to me?)-  
May reached into her pocket and tossed the keycard in Kirlia's direction. Kirlia stopped it mid-flight with her psychic powers, then grabbed it. She then opened the door and started off towards the lobby of the Pokémon Center.

(Main room)

Nurse Joy sighed. Steven's wounds were quite deep, and it would take some time for him to recover. Who or what could have done this? The gashes were unlike any she had ever studied, and he refused to say anything about what had transpired. She knew that he had a tendency to withhold important information, but this was just ridiculous. Any sane and injured person would tell whoever was taking care of them how they had gotten injured, but evidently, Steven was not entirely sane. Once again, she sighed. *I suppose it is in his nature. He didn't have a comfortable childhood, that's for sure…*

Just as she began walking towards the room where Steven was held, though, Kirlia suddenly hopped onto the counter.  
-(Uhm, Nurse Joy? Do you mind if I talk to Steven for a bit?)-  
"I'm afraid he's not in the best of conditions. He's stable, at least, but it'd probably be better to wait until he's fully recovered."  
-(Pleaaase? Pretty pleaaase?)-  
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you into his room right now."  
Kirlia, seeing that she wasn't going to be able to access Steven's room without resorting to drastic measures, then utilized an ancient and dark art…

The ancient, dark, and forbidden art…

Of puppy dog eyes.  
She brushed aside her hair, readied herself, and then gave Nurse Joy a heart-meltingly sweet look, her eyes huge and shining.  
Nurse Joy, despite her very best efforts, was not able to resist the effects of Kirlia's adorable visage. She soon caved in, saying, "Well, uhm, I suppose that it wouldn't hurt if I let you talk to him for a little bit… But don't take too long, okay?"  
-(I won't, I promise. Thank you, Nurse Joy.)-  
Kirlia then jumped off of the counter and started towards Steven's room. Once Nurse Joy was out of earshot, she began snickering. *Oh, I am so good.*

Soon, she was standing outside the room Steven was being held. She cautiously peeked around the corner of the doorway and looked around. The only notable things she could see were Steven, who was lying on the bed, and a strange silver and red statue. It resembled a spiky silver bird, with wings that each had one silver feather and three red feathers. The head had a sharp beak and jagged teeth, and connected to its curved body had a spiked tail on its rear end. The eyes of the statue were closed, and it looked as if it was sleeping. It stood in the middle of the room, near the foot of Steven's bed, as if intended to ward off any potential intruders.

Regardless, Kirlia was soon able to muster the resolve to walk into the room. She slowly began treading into the room, making sure to keep her footsteps light. Soon, she was only a few feet away from Steven's bed. Her plan was to wake him by nudging his shoulder lightly, as she feared that jumping onto the bed would shock him too much.

However, this plan was promptly scrapped as the statue suddenly sprang to life and grabbed Kirlia by her leg using its beak. She screamed, and saw that the statue was, in fact, a Pokémon. She struggled frantically, but this only made the Pokémon tighten its grip on her leg. Suddenly, she saw that her leg was bleeding, which made her shriek even louder. Despite her best efforts, she could not break free of the steel bird's iron grip. No matter how much she flailed or swung, the bird held on with its beak, and refused to let go at all.

However, just as she began to lose hope, Steven suddenly woke up and, after quickly assessing the situation, leapt out of bed and grabbed the steel Pokémon, saying, "Skarmory! Stop, now!"  
Though it was somewhat slow to respond to his commands, it eventually calmed down. The Skarmory then loosened its tight grip on Kirlia's leg and placed her on top of the bed. Steven ran up to her and looked over her. Upon seeing the gashes on her leg, Steven admonished his Pokémon, saying, "Look what you've done! Her leg is bleeding! Couldn't you have been a little more gentle?!"

Skarmory looked deeply apologetic, and Steven sighed. He then turned around and released Bronzor from its Poké Ball.  
"Bronzor, go down the hall and get Nurse Joy."  
Bronzor floated off towards the main room. Not too long after it left, it returned with Nurse Joy close behind. Upon seeing Kirlia's mangled leg, she gasped.  
"W-what happened?! Why is your leg so mutilated?!"  
-(Bandages first, questions later!)-  
"R-right!" Nurse Joy rummaged in her pockets for a few seconds, then produced a box of bandages.  
Soon, Kirlia's leg was patched up sufficiently, and the tension quickly defused.  
-(Thanks, Nurse Joy. Now, to answer your question, we had a bit of a misunderstanding while I was trying to talk to Steven.)-  
Steven elaborated, saying, "While I was asleep, she evidently entered my room and walked towards my bed. Skarmory, who I had on watch, so to speak, believed she was a threat and attempted to protect me, albeit in a rather violent manner."  
"I see… Well, at least it's over now."  
"True, but I still am interested in speaking to her. She obviously had a reason to enter my room, and I intend on finding it. Nurse Joy, I ask you to leave for now, so that we may converse alone."  
"Alright, Steven. I'll leave you two by yourselves, then."  
With that, Nurse Joy left the room. After she exited the room, Steven took the initiative.

"So, why did you feel the need to talk to me?"  
-(Well, um, my trainer, May, wanted to know what happened down there in the caves, and to be honest, so do I.)-  
"Ah, so that's it, then. Well, I'm afraid that I can't tell you the whole story, but I suppose I could tell you parts of it."  
-(Please do.)-  
"Well, while Aggron and I were fending off Team Magma and Team Aqua, some small earthquakes caused Team Magma's drilling set off a rock fall. Several landed on me, and they hurt me badly. Aggron was able to rescue me, though, and we eventually made our way up to the surface."  
-(I… see. Thank you for telling me, Steven, even if you didn't tell me everything.)-  
"You're welcome. Now, I recommend you get to sleep. It's rather late, and staying up isn't particularly healthy."  
-(I will, don't worry. Goodbye, Steven.)-  
"Goodbye."  
Kirlia then hopped off the bed, left the room, and started off towards the stairs. Despite having an injured leg, she was still able to walk, albeit with some difficulty. Soon, she was walking up the stairway, intent on telling May what had transpired.

(Back at Steven's room)

Upon thinking back on what he had said, Steven sighed. The story he had told Kirlia had been entirely fabricated. He didn't want to think about what had really happened, and he didn't want to tell her what had happened, so he simply spun up a tale to hide the truth of what had happened.  
Despite this, though, if he had the chance to change what had happened, he would not take it. His father had taught him that sometimes lies had to be told, even when you don't enjoy lying. At the time, Steven didn't know how true that was, but now that he was older and more experience, he did. He knew the truth of that statement far too well.

(May's room)

-(… That's why he was so beat up when you found him.)-  
May nodded. "I see…" She grimaced a little.  
Kirlia happened to notice this. -(I know, it seems rather odd, doesn't it?)-  
May seemed surprised. "Hm?"  
-(Steven's story seems quite weird, if you think about it. He seems rather experienced, so I would think he could avoid a rock fall. Even if he couldn't, though, I saw how badly he was hurt, and it doesn't look like anything rocks could cause. The wounds looked like they were deliberately made by someone… or something.)-  
May stared at Kirlia in disbelief. "W-wait, can you… read minds?!"  
Kirlia smiled mischievously. -(Maaybe.)-  
This did nothing but heighten May's suspicions. "Kirlia, if you're in my head right now…"  
-(Don't worry, May! I was only joking!)-  
"Good. The last thing I need is you reading my thoughts… Oh, right, Wally came in a few minutes ago. He said that he had permission from his father's friend to sail with us to Slateport, and I told him that we're going tomorrow, so…"  
-(I guess we're setting sail tomorrow, then. Anyways, it's getting pretty late. I think I'm going to go to sleep. See you tomorrow, May.)-  
"I think I'm gonna get to sleep, too. G'night, Kirlia…"

(The next morning, on the shore of Dewford Town)

Wally sat near the shoreline, just out of reach of the tide, with Wurmple sitting beside him. He was waiting for May, as she had said they were going to sail for Slateport tomorrow. He wondered what Verdanturf Town would be like. He hoped it would be nice and calm…

Just then, his Wurmple turned around and seemed alerted by something. Wally turned around as well, and there was May, with Kirlia riding on her shoulder.

"Hey, Wally! You ready to sail to Slateport City?"  
"Oh, yes! I'm definitely ready!"  
May smiled. "Okay, then! The boat's just over there, so let's go!"  
With that May ran off towards the docks, and Wally and Wurmple followed them. Soon, they were on the boat, and Mr. Briney was preparing to set sail. From the bridge of the boat, he called out to them.  
"Alright, you two! We're sailing for Slateport City!"  
With that, they started off towards their next destination, Slateport.

(A few hours later)

As they were sailing on the open ocean, while sitting on one of the beds below deck, May suddenly thought of something. She ascended the stairs and walked next to Wally, who was leaning on the rail of the stern of the ship. Wurmple sat on his shoulder, sleeping.

"Hey, Wally, do you mind if I ask you something?"  
"Sure, May. What's on your mind?"  
"Well, your parents want you to travel to Verdanturf Town, right?"  
"That's right, yes."  
"Would you mind telling me why they want you to go there?"  
Wally seemed a bit startled by the question, but nonetheless answered her.  
"Well, I have a bit of a breathing problem, you see. They think that if I stay in Verdanturf Town, I'll eventually become healthy. I'm not entirely sure if it'll work, but Verdanturf is famed for its clean and fresh air, so at the very least, I'll have a place to stay for the rest of my life."  
"Thanks for telling me, Wally."  
"It's no problem, May. You're really nice, you know that?"  
"Oh, thank you, Wally, but really, I'm not that different from most other girls my age."  
"I don't think that most girls your age rescue Pokémon from villainous teams."  
"Well, that's just because I happened to be there."  
"I think you don't have enough self-confidence, May."  
"I have plenty of self-confidence!"

Mr. Briney chimed in, saying, "Stop arguing, ya lovebirds! Hehe, it's been a long while since I was your age… Back then, I fancied a lass by the name of Glacia. She was beautiful as the waters of the ocean, but as cold as the depths of Shoal Cave. I was rejected every time I approached her, and eventually, she chose to travel the world and train her Pokémon. The pain of rejection still faintly burns in my heart… But I've mostly gotten over it. Nowadays, my only loves are the sea and my darling, Peeko. Ah, here I am, blabbering about my early days with two youngsters…"

He went on reminiscing to himself, and Wally and May took the opportunity to retreat to below deck. After placing Wurmple on a pillow, Wally initiated conversation, saying, "He likes talking a lot, doesn't he?"  
May shrugged, and then said, "He's pretty old. Maybe when you get old, you start talking a lot."  
"Maybe so. Anyways, I think this trip is going to take a while, so we might as well get to bed for now. I know it's early, but we don't have much else to do."  
"I think that's a pretty sound plan."  
They then each walked over to a bed and lay down on it. Soon enough, they were fast asleep.  
Soon after they were asleep, Kirlia exited the bathroom, where she had been washing herself.

*Why are they asleep so early? Oh well, I might as well join them…*  
She walked over to one of the unoccupied beds and lay down on it. Before she could fall asleep, though, she felt something in her head… It wasn't physically there, but yet…  
-(Oh no… Agh!)-  
Suddenly, she was wracked with a good deal of pain. She stumbled off of the bed and hit the floor. However, she was still able to focus her thoughts into one message:  
-(GET. OUT.)-

A few seconds afterwards, the presence was gone. Kirlia stood up, and then sighed.  
*Why was she trying to enter my head again? What does she think she's accomplishing by doing that?*  
She put these thoughts aside for the time being, and lay down on the bed again. Fortunately, there were no more incidents, and she quickly fell asleep.

(Roughly a day later)

May, after waking up and going through her standard morning routine (brushing her teeth, fussing with her hair, etc.), walked up the stairs. Wally, Wurmple, and Kirlia were already on the deck at this point.  
-(Good morning, May. We didn't get stuck on a rock formation again, don't worry.)-  
May cracked a grin, while Wally looked confused. Seeing his perplexed expression, May said, "We had a little incident on our way to Dewford from Mr. Briney's home. Don't worry, though, it wasn't too bad."

Suddenly, Mr. Briney shouted out, "Land ho! Slateport City is just ahead of us!"  
They all looked out towards the front of the ship. Before them was a shining seaside city, with many tall buildings that glimmered in the sunlight. They could see a bustling bazaar, with market stalls lined up on the sides of the narrow streets. In front of the city was a large beach, upon which the many waves crashed and many people relaxed.  
-(It's so beautiful…)-  
May silently agreed with this statement. The view of Slateport was unlike any sight she had ever seen before. Wally quietly whispered, "This is incredible…"

A few minutes later, the ship came up to a small dock at the end of the beach.  
"Alright, you all go and do what ye need to do! I think I'll go back to my cottage and relax for a while, hehe!"  
May replied, "Thanks for all of the help, Mr. Briney!"  
"Think nothin' of it, lass!"  
May, Kirlia, Wally, and Wurmple then all disembarked from the boat and started off towards the city. There were a few trainers along the way, but the battles were quite short. Onward they continued towards Slateport City.

(Slateport City)

Shortly after entering the city, the quartet headed off towards the lively market. The many friendly merchants greeted them and offered them many different items and wares. They bought quite a few things, including a few Potions, a small beanie for Wurmple (for some reason) and a red balloon for Kirlia.  
-(I like this thing. It's kinda cute, in a weird way. May, would you mind holding it for me?)-  
"Sure, Kirlia."  
"Wurmple."  
"Wally, why did you buy Wurmple a beanie?"  
"I don't really know. I just thought it would look good on him."  
"Wurmple."  
"Well, we might as well go to the Pokémon Center. We don't really have much else to do here, for now."  
"I agree, that's probably a good idea."  
"Wurmple."

(Pokémon Center)

Upon entering the Pokémon Center, they saw a Team Aqua grunt accosting the Slateport Nurse Joy. She was wearing a sleek black military uniform, and instead of the normal nurse's cap, she wore a black metal helmet, with a red stylized cross emblazoned on its front.  
"C'mon, lady! I don't wanna hurt ya too much, hehe!"  
"Nein! I vill not give you any trainers' Pokémon!"  
"Look, missy, our team really needs the Pokémon, and if I need to, I'm not afraid to rough you up a little!"  
In response, Nurse Joy produced a handgun with a box-shaped magazine and a wooden stock. She pointed it directly at the Grunt's remarkably exposed face.  
"Are you deaf?! I said I vould not be handing over any Pokémon! Get out! Schnell!"  
To emphasize her point, she fired a warning shot into the air. This scared off the Grunt, who ran out of the building as fast as his legs could carry him.

After the Grunt was out of sight, the four of them approached Nurse Joy, who was evidently a bit worn out by the incident.  
-(Nurse Joy? Are you alright?)-  
"Eh…? Oh, it's you. My brother, Frederick, told me to expect you… May, I believe ze name is?"  
"Yes, that's my name."  
"Ja, he told me you vould be coming here. I apologize for forcing you to see zat incident… I have so much trouble controlling my temper…"  
Wally stepped in, saying, "Well, I think what you did was very noble. You could have been a bit less aggressive, sure, but you certainly meant well."  
"Really? Well, zank you for ze compliment… Ach, I need to work on mein English… I'll have to work on it later. Anyway, do your Pokémon need healed? If so, just recall the ones you have out right now, and hand the Poké Balls over to me."  
May recalled Kirlia into her Poké Ball, and Wally did the same for Wurmple. May handed over all three of her Poké Balls (Combusken and Tentacool took a bit of damage in the battles along the way), and Wally handed over his two Poké Balls.  
"W-wait, I didn't know you had two Pokémon!"  
"Oh, didn't I tell you? I caught another Pokémon while you were exploring the Granite Cave. I'll have to show him to you later."  
"Yeah, you will! I'm looking forward to seeing your other partner."

Nurse Joy then turned to face them, having placed their Poké Balls in the healing machine.  
"Anyways, I suppose you two are wondering about my background. In short, I used to be a soldier in an army in a far-avay land. I vas a guard at a prison camp, where my country kept many people considering "unclean". At ze time, I never questioned my orders… I did many terrible things at that camp. In the end, we lost ze conflict, and I fled, fearing that I would be executed for my crimes. I eventually became a nurse, hoping to heal others instead of harming them… I've been working here ever since."  
Both May and Wally were a quite unnerved by her history, though Wally didn't really show it. May, on the other hand, immediately said, "That's really creepy!"  
"Your tact leaves much to be desired, mädchen. However, yes, it vas rather disturbing. I do not wish to frighten you any more, though, so I vill not share any more stories of my past."

Just as she finished talking, the healing machine chimed.  
"Ah, zere ve go! Now, here are your Poké Balls, mädchen, and here are yours, junge. And here is a keycard. You do not mind having to share a room, I hope? Do not vorry, there are two large beds in each room, so there won't be any awkward moments. I think I am getting a bit better even now… Oh, I'm just blabbering again. Off you go! Get to sleep!"  
At her insistence, they both ascended to the second floor. The keycard they had been given was for room 41, and so that was the room they entered. It was identical to the rooms they had been in at Dewford Town, except for the fact that, as Nurse Joy had said, there were two large beds instead of one.

May released her three Pokémon, who then began walking towards different sections of the room. Wally, however, said, "I think I'll actually go out and train for a bit. Could you lend me the keycard?"  
May responded, "Sure!" She walked over to him and handed over the keycard. He then opened the door and exited the room. May turned around, ready to get ready to go to bed, but she found Tentacool and Combusken in front of her.  
"Oh, do you guys want to go with him?"  
They both eagerly nodded.  
"Alright, guys, but don't stay out too long!"  
The two Pokémon then ran outside into the hall. May tied Kirlia's balloon to one of the bedposts, then entered the bathroom in order to get ready for bed.

Meanwhile, Kirlia, who had been resting on one of the smaller beds, got up and walked over to the bedpost on which her balloon was tethered. She psychically untied it, pulled the balloon itself closer to her, and examined it. She noticed that it was remarkably large, and at the end of it, there was an opening, tied up to keep the air inside. This discovery gave her an idea. She carefully undid the knot and brought the open end to her mouth, then began blowing air inside. She kept inflating and inflating the balloon, watching as it grew bigger and bigger…

(Perspective shift)

Meanwhile, May was fussing with her hair, attempting to make it relatively neat. She knew that her hair would become messy overnight, but she wanted to keep her hair in order regardless. Soon, her hair was just as she liked it, and so she started towards the door, ready to go to bed.

Suddenly, as she was approaching the door, she heard what sounded like a massive explosion in the main area of the room. She ran out into the main room and found Kirlia sprawled on her back, with remnants of her balloon scattered around the room.  
-(I think I may have overinflated it…)-  
May sighed, but then smiled a bit.  
"C'mon, Kirlia. Let's clean up this mess."  
And so the two of them spent most of their night cleaning up what remained of a red balloon.

* * *

"And thus, more than a month later, the Story of a Ralts was updated. And there was a mediocre amount of rejoicing."  
I really need to work on this fanfic more. At this rate, it'll be done by the next century comes.  
Anyways, there's a few points I want to address about this chapter:

I apologize to any offended by the stereotypical depiction of Germans, or to any offended by the fact that I basically made the Slateport Nurse Joy an ex-Nazi. I also apologize if replaced "w"s with "v"s makes it hard to read.

Yes, balloons and Kirlia will be a running gag. I'll try not to overdo it.

The gun Nurse Joy produced was based off of a Mauser C96. I really like the design of the gun, hence why she used it in the chapter.

I have no idea what I am doing with the room numbering. They're supposed to be based on some kind of order, but heck if I know what kind of order they're in. I'm just going to keep it like this, to be honest. It would be too convoluted for me to assign a definite order, and it isn't like it majorly affects reading. At least, I hope it doesn't.

As seen above, I will be placing horizontal lines to separate the story from the notes. I dunno, it just feels... cleaner.

I will be spacing dialogue out even more in the next chapter. I just don't like the blocks of text, even if they aren't as big as they used to be.

I will probably start two projects after I'm done with this one. I've already mentioned one, but I have yet to decide on the other. So look forward to double the amount of not-updating! Yaaay!


	12. Chapter 12: From Slateport to Mauville

_Let's see if I can get this one out before the month is over. Incidentally, as the Ralts evolution line has been retconned to be half Fairy type as well, I will be retconning Kirlia's type to be half Fairy. Incidentally incidentally, I've recently (at the time of the writing of this intro; this chapter could be posted a month later, for all I know) acquired Pokémon X, and I have to say, it is amazing. I'll probably include a few cameos and references from X, and I'll probably do a fanfiction on it eventually, assuming I ever get done with this project. Anyways, hiatus jokes aside, here we go._

_Moves, Levels, and other traits_  
_Kirlia: Level 21_  
_Type: Psychic_/_Fairy_  
_Gender: Female_  
_Nature: Adamant_  
_Ability: Synchronize_  
_Primary Moves: Confusion, Double Team, Teleport, Calm Mind_  
_Secondary Moves: Flash, Growl_

_Combusken: Level 23_  
_Type: Fire/Fighting_  
_Gender: Male_  
_Nature: Brave_  
_Ability: Blaze_  
_Primary Moves: Sand Attack, Ember, Peck, Double Kick_  
_Secondary Moves: Growl, Focus Energy, Scratch_

_Tentacool: Level 21_  
_Type: Water/Poison_  
_Gender: Male_  
_Nature: Relaxed_  
_Ability: Clear Body_  
_Primary Moves: Poison Sting, Supersonic, Constrict, Acid_  
_Secondary Moves: None_

_Dialogue Key:_  
_"Example." = Standard talking._  
_*Example.* = Thoughts/sound effect. (Note that I may sometimes state what a character is/was thinking, or may make sound effects part of their standard dialogue.)_  
_-(Example)- = Telepathy. (This is going to be Kirlia's way of communication.)_  
_(Example) = A shift in perspective, time, and/or location, or a side-note._

* * *

**(Slateport Oceanic Museum, second floor)**

The seafloor. Aquatic life. The ocean.

These things currently occupied the mind of Captain David William Stern. He looked out of a window of the second floor of the Oceanic Museum, out onto the shining sea.

Ever since he was a young boy, he had loved the sea. He loved the Pokémon that dwelled in the ocean's depths, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, and the beauty of the water's surface in the afternoon.

Yet, as he grew older, he began to desire more knowledge about the enigmatic ocean. What was hidden in its deepest reaches? Were there yet more Pokémon species that lived only in the darkest depths of the sea? Could there possibly be a clue on humanity's very origin in some ancient seafloor ruin?

These questions inspired him to learn as much as he could about the ocean. He was able earn master's degrees in oceanography, engineering, and marine biology, among others. He handpicked a large group of men to work around the Shipyard, constructing new ships and helping sink old ones for Pokémon. He even travelled around the world, once, helping aspiring mariners with their efforts and gathering ideas on how to reach the ocean's depths.

He was obsessed with the sea, and he knew it. But he couldn't turn back. Not when he had dedicated so much of his life to the sea. And he was so close to reaching a breakthrough! Blueprints from the Devon Corporation for a submarine were en route to his location. Once they arrived, he would start construction of the device, and once it was completed, he would finally be able to delve into the sea! His dream was coming to fruition, right before his eyes! The possible wonders of the ocean were already appearing in his mind…

After a few seconds of daydreaming, however, he shook himself. He had to focus on what was real, not what was possible. The reality was that the parts had yet to arrive, and the design still had to be constructed and tested. Still, he couldn't help but be somewhat excited. It was hard not to be, considering that the answer to his questions might be in his grasp.

Captain Stern then looked out the front window of the museum. *So many are coming here to learn,* he thought. *So many people…*  
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure who caught his interest: a young girl, with a Kirlia at her side. The girl's clothes were red, and a red bandana was tied up on the top of her head. In her left hand was a steel briefcase. He recalled that an acquaintance of his had told him to look out for a girl with these exact features…  
"Ah, wonderful," he said aloud. "Here are the blueprints."

**(Slateport Oceanic Museum, first floor)**

May marveled at the sight of the exhibits. They had left the Pokémon Center to search for Captain Stern, and one of the locals had told them to search here. Wally had gone off somewhere, saying that he wanted to train his Pokémon. As a result, May and Kirlia had ventured here alone. However, they did not expect to find such wonderful things in the Oceanic Museum.  
Glass tubes and display cases were placed around the museum, containing fossils, rocks, and all sorts of things relating to the ocean. There were several cross sections of ships and submarines, revealing the inner workings of the watercrafts. Some exhibits featured experiments, such as a machine that formed an artificial whirlpool in an enclosed case. There were maps of the ocean floor, models of various regions, and so many other wonderful things… May stood there, taking everything in…

-(May? You do remember why we're here, right?)-

Snapping out of her trance, May hastily said, "O-of course I remember! We have to get the Devon goods to Captain Stern!"

-(I just wanted to make sure. You're a bit of a ditz, so I can't trust you to remember these things.)-

May groaned. *Sure, I'm a little absentminded at times, but that doesn't mean…*

"Wait, is that a fossil of a flower?"

-(… Can we just go to the second floor already?)-

**(Slateport Oceanic Museum, second floor)**

As they came up the stairs, they saw a middle-aged man with brown hair examining a model of a cruise ship. He appeared to be deep in thought, but regardless he turned to face them.

"Ah, there you are. I am Captain Stern, and I assume that those are the goods from the Devon Corporation?"

"These are the goods, alright!"

"Just as I suspected. Now, if you would give them to me…"

May carefully handed over the briefcase containing the goods to Captain Stern, who then placed it on a nearby table, opened it, and examined the blueprints inside. Both May and Kirlia peeked at the blueprints, but were unable to make heads or tails of them.

"Hmm, interesting… I see… Well, everything appears to be in order here. Thank you for-"

As he was speaking, however, a pair of Team Aqua grunts ran into the room, with a bat-like Pokémon, Zubat, and a piranha-like Pokémon, Carvanha, close behind.

"Hold it right there! We'll be taking those parts!"

Stern sighed. "You two again? I've already said that I will not be cooperating, so why do you insist on bothering me?"

"Can it, gramps! We're here for those parts, and nothing's gonna stop us!"

"One, I am not a grandfather, nor am I particularly old. Two, these are my parts, not yours, and I'm afraid I cannot lend them to you. Three, Spheal! Body Slam!"

With that, he sent out a Spheal, a round Pokémon resembling a baby seal. It immediately rushed at one of the goons and bashed into him with its body. He was knocked backwards, into his Carvanha, and they both tumbled down the stairs.

The remaining goon, showing remarkable (if reckless) bravery, stood his ground and said, "Zubat! Bite that Kirlia's head!"  
The Zubat then made a flying rush straight for Kirlia. However, as it closed in on her, she suddenly disappeared, leaving the Zubat bewildered. As it tried to reorient itself, she appeared on top of it and forced it to the ground with a heavy kick.

-(Miss me?)-

The grunt was alarmed by how easily his Zubat was defeated. "Dang, that was my only Pokémon… Well, there's no shame in running from a superior foe!"  
Before he could make good his escape, though, Kirlia psychically tossed his Zubat at him. The bat Pokémon slammed into him, and both of them went tumbling down the stairs.  
-(I appreciate the compliment, but flattery won't get you anywhere.)-

Captain Stern then turned towards them and said, "I appreciate your assistance in removing those Team Aqua members from my presence. They've been bothering me for quite a while now, but I doubt they'll approach me again anytime soon."

-(You're welcome, Captain Stern. Anyhow, I think the two of us are done here, so I think we'll be going, now.)-

"Farewell, then, and feel free to come visit us at the Shipyard once in a while!"  
May and Kirlia then parted ways with Captain Stern. They went off to Route 110, which was north of Slateport, and Stern started towards the Shipyard, intent on beginning the construction of the construction of the submarine.

**(Route 110, a few minutes later)**

The scenery of Route 110 was quite interesting. Two large lakes dominated the landscape, filled with rocks and small islands. The Cycling Road, an elevated man-made path on which bikers rode, extended over both of the lakes. One of the road's ends was near Slateport City; the other was near Mauville City, to the north. Beneath it, a long, grassy path helped connect the two cities as well. It was covered in grass, and acted as a separator between the two lakes. Near both Slateport and Mauville, there were small forests, but they did not impede any who intended to travel to either of the cities, as there were no trees on the main path.

As it was, May, Kirlia, and Combusken had to take the lower route because they didn't have a bicycle. The trio went along the lower path, occasionally encountering wild Pokémon and a few trainers. However, as they approached Mauville, they encountered Brendan, Professor Birch's son.  
They found him in the tall grass, looking around for Pokémon. As they approached him, he turned to greet them.

"Oh, May! It's you! It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Hey, Brendan! Long time no see!"

Combusken cheerfully cried out, but Kirlia reacted differently.

-(Um… Who are you?)-

"Oh, we must not have met! I'm Brendan, Professor Birch's son and a future Pokémon Professor! I'm friends with May, here. Didn't she mention me?"

"Um, I didn't think to… Well, you've met now, at least! Anyways, whatcha doing out here, Brendan?"

"Mostly catching new Pokémon, but I've been training mine, too. Say, want to have a battle to see who's better at raising their Pokémon?"

"You're on! Combusken, get ready!"

Combusken then leapt out in front, ready for battle.

"Alright! Marshtomp, let's go!"  
Brendan sent out Marshtomp, a bipedal Pokémon with a rounded face. There was a large orange spot on its stomach, and it had three fins (one on top of its head, one on each of its legs). Its cheeks had orange spikes protruding from them.

May grimaced at Brendan's choice. Marshtomp, a Water/Ground type, had the advantage over Combusken, a Fire/Fighting type. Still, she had faith in Combusken.

"Alright, Combusken! Use Double Kick!"

"Dodge it, Marshtomp!"

Though Marshtomp was able to dodge the first of the kicks, Combusken was able to land the second kick directly on Marshtomp's head. However, the Water/Ground Pokémon still held its ground.

"Okay, Marshtomp! Water Gun!"

His Pokémon then released a blast of water, aimed directly at Combusken. It hit poor Combusken right in the chest and knocked it into one of the lakes. When the waters became still again, it was obvious that May's Pokémon was unable to battle any more.

She recalled it, sighing. "You did well, Combusken. Dang… Well, looks like you're up, Kirlia!"

-(Alright, May!)-

Kirlia then jumped out onto the battlefield.

"Interesting choice, May! Still, we're not holding back! Marshtomp! Mud Shot!"

"Double Team, Kirlia!"

Kirlia then began glowing with a weak whitish aura. After a second or two of concentration, the aura disappeared, and several lookalikes of Kirlia appeared to her right and left. Marshtomp was understandably confused by this.

"Argh… If you can't make out the real one, Marshtomp, just keep using Mud Shot! You'll find the real one eventually!"

Marshtomp gave a cry of "Marsh!" in assent, and then began firing blobs of mud at the various Kirlias. However, they were all quite agile, and avoided most of the shots. The few clones that were hit simply dissipated into thin air, like a ghost. After a while, though, they began to gradually become fewer and fewer, until there was only one left.

"Aha! Marshtomp, Water Gun!"

Though she attempted to get away, Kirlia was unable to outrun the blast of water. Brendan watched as the blast of water got closer and closer to her…

And he watched as she simply dissipated, as the other ones had, when the blast of water hit her.

"W-whaa?!"  
"M-marsh?!"

-(You're quite smart, Brendan, and your Pokémon's quite good. However, there's one thing that you didn't take into account.)-

Suddenly, Kirlia appeared out of nowhere behind Marshtomp. She grabbed onto the fins near its legs, swung it around a few times, then tossed it away. It hit the ground quite hard, plowing into the ground and creating a large dirt pileup. As the dust settled, they could see that Marshtomp's eyes were spiral-shaped – a sign that one's Pokémon was defeated.

-(You didn't take into account that, quite frankly, I'm awesome.)-

Brendan recalled his Pokémon. "Well, I admit, that was quite good. Still, I have two more Pokémon left! Go, Numel!"

The next Pokémon Brendan sent out was a small yellow thing. It somewhat resembled a camel in body shape, though its legs were far stubbier. The top of its hump was green, and on the very top of the hump, there was a small hole. This made its hump look vaguely like a volcano

"Urh…. Where did you find that Pokémon, Brendan?"

"I actually traded a Geodude for it! Isn't my Numel awesome?"

"You can keep telling yourself that… Anyways, Kirlia, you can take a break for now. Tentacool, it's your turn!"

Kirlia disappeared, then reappeared on May's shoulder. When he was sent onto the field, Tentacool was half-asleep. He soon shook himself awake, though, and quickly readied himself.

"Alright, Tentacool! Use Constrict!"

Tentacool lunged forward, outstretching its tentacles. It latched onto Numel and began squeezing, its main body directly above Numel's hump.

"Hehe, we've got you right where we want you! Numel, use Ember!"

Numel readied itself for a few seconds, then released a huge flurry of fireballs out of its hump. Tentacool was hit relentlessly by the embers. There was so much fire, it was hard to see through the massive flurry. Soon, the storm of fire finally stopped…

And Tentacool was still there, practically unscathed.

"WHAT?! I… HOW… WHAT?!"

"… You aware Ember's not effective against Water-types, right, Brendan?"

"But… There was so much fire! It was practically an inferno! How could your Tentacool not have fainted?! It's impossible!"

And then, as if to pour salt into the wound, Numel fainted of exhaustion.

"… Great. Just great." Brendan recalled his Numel out from under Tentacool, then sighed. "Still, I have one more Pokémon, and I'm not about to give up just because of a fluke! Shroomish! My hope's riding on you!"

Brendan's final Pokémon was a Shroomish, a small, light-brown mushroom Pokémon with green spots. Its top had a small opening, and two green feet extended out from beneath its body.

Now, May was confident that she could win. "Okay, Tentacool! One more to go! Use Acid!"

Out of Tentacool's "mouth" came a stream of vile acid, aimed directly at Shroomish. The spray covered the mushroom Pokémon for several seconds before finally ceasing. Shortly after the Acid attack stopped, Shroomish collapsed, defeated. Brendan quietly groaned, then recalled his Pokémon.

"Well, that was disappointing. Still, I learned a lot from this battle. You did quite well, May, considering that I rather easily beat your starter Pokémon."

"Thanks, Brendan. Say, do you want to come along with us? It's a long way to Mauville, and we might as well spend some time together…"

"I need to get my Pokémon healed, first. I'll catch up to you later. Before we part, though, if you have a PokéNav, do you want to exchange numbers? It'll be convenient in case we need to contact each other."

"Sure, Brendan."

After registering each other in the Match Call system of their PokéNavs, they parted ways, Brendan going back to Slateport, and May and Kirlia continuing towards Mauville.

Soon after they began travelling again, Kirlia piped in.

-(You know, I can't help but feel bad for Brendan. The battle started out so well for him, then it just went downhill.)-

"Yeah, it's a little bit sad. He said that he learned some things, though, so he has that going for him."

-(That's true, but…)-

Suddenly, Kirlia slumped off of May's shoulder and fell limply to the ground. May shrieked, then quickly knelt down beside Kirlia.

"Kirlia! Are you okay?!"

-(Y-yeah… I think that I'm just worn out from using my powers so much…)-

"Phew! I was worried that you were really badly hurt!"

-(Hehe, don't worry so much… Ugh, mind giving me a hand?)-

"Sure, Kirlia…"

May gently picked up Kirlia and held her as one would hold a child or infant, with Kirlia's head resting on May's right shoulder. They then began walking towards Mauville City again. Along the way,

"You know, this is a bit out of the blue, but now that I think about it, you're really cute, Kirlia."

-(Well, thanks for the compliment, I guess… I don't know why I'm so worn out…)-

"Well, considering that you swept both that Team Aqua Grunt and Brendan's Marshtomp without breaking a sweat, so I would be shocked if you weren't tired!"

-(But I wasn't tired at all before now…)-

"Maybe it's a delayed reaction or something, or maybe you're just getting better at using your psychic powers. Your guess is as good as mine. Anyways, it looks like we're getting close to Mauville, so we should be able to get you healed at the Pokémon Center."

May then pulled out Kirlia's Poké Ball, preparing to recall her. Just before she entered her Poké Ball, Kirlia wearily said, -(Well, that's something to look forward to, at least…)-

**(Mauville City)**

Mauville, though it was not nearly as large as Rustboro City, was still a remarkable city in its own right. Small skyscrapers dotted the landscape, and large buildings were quite common. However, two buildings in particular made Mauville City unique.

The more prominent of the two buildings was the massive power plant in the middle of town. Similar in design (if not in size) to the Kanto Power Plant, the Hoenn Power Plant was the main source of power for the entire region. Other cities, such as Rustboro, also had power plants, but none produced nearly as much power as the Mauville plant.

The other building was the Mauville Game Corner, a small casino-style near the southern entrance to Mauville City. Inside the front room of the building was a variety of various gambling games – slot machines, roulettes, pachinko machines, and other such games. In the back room (accessible only for older patrons), more "mature" games, such as poker, pool, and keno, were played. The front room utilized a unique kind of currency, "coins", whereas in the back room, patrons used standard money when betting. This two-room system created a strange sort of contrast; in the front room, children as young as 10 were often seen playing the various games for coins, while in the back room, middle-aged men in checkered suits played games for cold, hard cash.

Neither of these things particularly concerned May, however, who was intent on getting to a Pokémon Center quickly. She quickly passed by most of the buildings, focusing on the orange-roofed building ahead of her…

**(Mauville Pokémon Center, one of the back rooms)**

"What do you mean that you're under attack?!"

The Mauville Nurse Joy was flustered. The Slateport Nurse Joy was on the line, but what she was saying made no sense at all. A group of people was apparently attacking the Slateport Pokémon Center, but it wasn't entirely clear who they were.

Her "sister" angrily responded to her query, peppering her speech with rather colorful words.

"You aren't being specific at all! Can't you tell who's attacking you?!"

Another angry response, with a great deal of insults towards the attackers.

"Ugh… I'll come down there soon! Try to hold out!"

She hung up, then began preparing for the trip. What was unique about this Nurse Joy is that she functioned both as the Pokémon Center attendant and the law enforcement for Mauville City, due to a lack of staff. Of course, this often meant that she was absent from one job or another, especially when one of her "sisters" need help. Fortunately, she had some helpers.

"Alakazam! Meowstic! Get out here!"

Into the room rushed a vaguely humanoid, yellow-skinned Pokémon with a large mustache, Alakazam, and a feminine feline Pokémon with white fur, Meowstic. These were her helpers; Alakazam was the one who took over as "nurse", while Meowstic acted as constable. They were reliable enough, though they had their flaws (arrogance in Alakazam's case, a short fuse in Meowstic's case).

"Alright, you two. I have to go down to Slateport; something's going on down there, and Rosie needs my help. You two hold the fort while I'm gone, alright?"

-(Certainly. There's nothing to fear, Nurse Joy; we'll be perfectly fine.)-

"Meow."

"Well then, I'm off. I'll be back in a bit."

She then walked out into the hallway, planning on leaving through the back door of the Pokémon Center.  
As soon as she was gone, the two began bickering.

-(I shall take my post at the lobby of the building. Do try not to attack any civilians out of rage, if it's not too much to ask.)-

"Meow-mew-meow!"

-(I do not care if you haven't caused an incident in quite some time; the point still stands that you have to keep even-tempered, lest something unfortunate occur.)-

"Mew."

-(I am pleased to see that we are in agreement. Now, let us take our proper posts.)-

"Meow."

**(Mauville Pokémon Center, main room)**

When May found that there was no Nurse Joy present at the Pokémon Center, she was, to put it bluntly, very agitated.  
*Where is she?!* she thought. *Is she on an errand or something? Is there a Nurse Joy here at all?!*

-(Don't fluster yourself, milady. The resident Nurse Joy has simply gone out for a bit of business.)-

May turned, shocked, to the origin of the sound. She then saw Alakazam standing in the doorway to one of the back hallways (though, of course, she didn't know its name).

"W-wait, can you… hear my thoughts?!"

-(Indeed I can, unless I just happen to hear sentences that are identical to those in your mind. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Alakazam, a helper to the Mauville City Nurse Joy. As I said, she has simply left on an errand of some kind; I cannot divulge specifics, but you need not worry yourself with such things. Shall I take your Pokémon and heal them?)-

"U-um, yeah, here you go…"

She held out her three Poké Balls, which Alakazam simply telekinetically transported and placed into the healing machine. He then flipped a switch on the side of the machine, which began the healing process.

-(Well, while we wait for the process to be finished, allow me to share a bit of trivia with you. The Nurse Joy here acts as both nurse and policewoman, as the Pokémon League, who maintains all of the Pokémon Centers and police stations throughout Hoenn, had a shortage of staff members, and consequently needed someone to perform double-duty. Due to the fact that she cannot be in two places at once, she requires assistants in order to do both duties at once. I am one of these assistants, the one who attends the Pokémon Center when needed. The other assistant, who you may see patrolling around the city, acts as the law enforcement when needed. Unfortunately, my partner is rather short-tempered, which complicates things… Bah, I went off another tangent, didn't I? Apologies. Fortunately, it seems that your Pokémon are done healing. Here you go… Ah, you most likely need a keycard, don't you? There you go, a keycard for Room 53. Go along, now.)-

May, having trouble taking it all in, dazedly walked out of the Pokémon Center.  
After watching her leave, Alakazam quietly thought to himself, *Perhaps I said too much for the poor girl to handle.*

**(Ever Grande City, Pokémon League)**

In one of the many rooms of the Pokémon League building, a young, blue-haired man looked over a large group of monitors. He wore a white beret-like hat, light-purple pants, and a stylish white-and-light blue suit, along with a long white cape. His voice was charismatic and easygoing, despite his position. He went over all of the various reports from his vast network of contacts…

"So, W1 has been hearing reports of strange happenings in SC1, T and L have been noticing more strange things at MC, and W2 is saying that Team A is very active in LC… Ugh, I wish I wouldn't have made this code so complicated…"

"Why did you make it in the first place, Wallace?"

Wallace spun around to source of the gruff, cold voice. The speaker, a man, was rather old, with an unbuttoned black long coat, a white peaked cap with a black band and visor, and a rather large white mustache.

"Because, D, I don't want anyone to understand what I'm saying! With the code, any villainous teams that have planted bugs in this room aren't able to know who or what I'm referring to!"

"D" groaned as he light up a cigar and placed it in his mouth. "This 'code' is embarrassingly transparent. Any idiot with a list of the Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, and cities in Hoenn could translate most of what you're saying. And please, call me Drake. 'D' is a terrible codename."

*Drake is so damn annoying,* thought Wallace. "Fine, we'll play things your way, Drake. Why are you here, anyways?"

"Brawly just called me via PokéNav, as his computer network had a malfunction. Namely, his Machamp went on a rampage and destroyed all of his monitors a few weeks back."

"That explains why he hasn't contacted me or sent in any reports lately…"

"Anyways, according to him, Steven's in bad condition. Steve said that Team Magma attacked him in the Granite Cave, though he didn't say specifically what happened, for some reason. And apparently, a girl with red clothes and a Ralts beat Brawly recently. Steven asked Brawly to tell us this, but he wasn't sure why."

"I see… Well, thank you for that information, Drake."

"You're welcome, Wallace. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have my own things to look over…"

After Drake left, Wallace began quietly meditating on what was going on. Team Magma and Aqua were both active, especially in the northern areas of Hoenn. What did this mean? What are their plans? Unfortunately, the intelligence from Gym Leaders was limited, as they had to attend to their own gyms, and their primary field agent, Steven, was temporarily down…

"Perhaps… the girl that beat both R and B could help the League's plans… I'll have to contact W1 soon. Maybe he could somehow convince her to help us in some way… And, as weird as this is, I really want to know what she looks like. R said she was young and… beautiful, and I certainly want to see what she's capable of."

*Yes,* Wallace thought, *perhaps she's who we need…*

**(Somewhere in Hoenn)**

"Gallade, she keeps disrupting my efforts every time I try to contact her… Do you still think that we should go through with this?"

Gallade grimaced. Gardevoir was always questioning him and his plan.

"I don't care how she feels about her current situations. I am going to rescue my third daughter, whether or not she wants to be rescued."

"Why can't you respect how she feels? If she's fine with how she is, why try to displace her? Why not-"

"I will not stand idly by and let that human enslave and brainwash her! She's already evolved into a Kirlia; if we let her stay with that human for too long…"

"Is it truly difficult to let things go? You were perfectly fine with not pursuing our fourth child-"

"**I WILL NOT ALLOW YET ANOTHER OF MY CHILDREN TO BE TAKEN!**"  
Gallade inwardly regretted losing his temper, but didn't show it on the outside.

He then wearily said, "I've already had one of my daughters taken from me by the humans. I will not let another of them be stolen…"

Gardevoir nodded somewhat fearfully, then wistfully walked away. Gallade sat down on a nearby rock, gradually cooling down. As his anger slowly faded away, his son, a Kirlia, approached him.

"Father? Is something wrong? You and mother haven't been on very good terms lately…"

"Don't worry, son. We merely have… clashing viewpoints, let us say, on your kidnapped sister's predicament. Not to worry, though; regardless, we will get your sister back, and perhaps then we may find a permanent refuge from human expansion."

"Alright, father. I'm going to go down and comfort my sister. I think she's been rather shaken by your arguments with mother."

"Very well, son. Perhaps you should comfort your mother as well, later."

"I'll consider it. Farewell, father."

"Farewell, son."

And so the son went off to find his only remaining sibling. Meanwhile, Gallade silently thought over what had happened.  
*Why is she so opposed to rescuing our daughter? Is there something she knows that I don't?*  
However, he then shook himself. He couldn't let petty things get in the way of his plan. His daughter's rescue was his goal, and he was going to achieve that goal, no matter what got in his way.

* * *

**Author's Note** (Hey, I remembered to add it this time!)**:** _Hey, I got it out in less than a month! Go me! Incidentally, lots of old characters introduced in this chapter. Methinks I spent far too much time in Dewford Town. Anyhow, here are various other sidenotes:_

_Apologies if the new text format makes it a bit awkward to read, but to me, it looks less ugly than huge blocks of text._

_I slightly modified the storyline. In the games, the blueprints are for a submarine engine for Stern's submarine, which has been already planned out. Here, though, the plans are for the entire submarine. A minor detail, I know, but I felt it might as well be mentioned._

_I don't believe I'll do the Trick Master. For those who are unaware, the Trick Master is an NPC whose house is in Route 110. He challenges you to various different puzzles, with more being unlocked as you advance. I think it would just detract from the main plotline, but I may eventually add him in, if only as a minor character._

_Yeaahh, I need to add more Brendan. It's bad when I have to re-introduce a character for fear of readers not knowing who he is. Same for Kirlia's family and the Pokémon League members._

_As for the pronouns for Pokémon, I'll try to make it go like this: May's Pokémon get gender-based pronouns (he, she; him, her; himself, herself). Other Pokémon get gender-neutral pronouns (it, itself), though exceptions may be made in dialogue. I will also make some exceptions for special cases (Kirlia's family, for example)._

_Incidentally, when this chapter was first uploaded, I forgot to retcon Kirlia's type. Fortunately, someone (A.K.A. FlameUser64) asked about this, and thus I changed it. Yay for forgetting really obvious things._

_And as always, feel free to review my story and say what you liked/didn't like about the chapter._


End file.
